This means that Dunne, who hurt his hand in the first round of a points decision over Mexican Alejandro Cruz Ramirez in Tucson recently, is off the Dec. 6 Madison Square Garden card on which his compatriot John Duddy will appear.
“It’s a shame that I’m missing the Madison Square Garden show, but I know it will happen later,” Dunne said last week.
On his injury, Dunne said: “It could have been worse. The good news is that it’s not broken. I had feared the worse.”
A doctor that had examined him immediately after the Ramirez fight had feared that it was fractured, putting a damper on Dunne’s gutsy win following the first knockdown of his career.
At any rate, the youngster ended 2003 on a high note after posting his eighth win of the year. He’s 10-0 (8 KOs).
“It’s been a successful year,” he said. “We’ve made the American public know who Bernard Dunne is and next year should be a big one as well.”
Dunne will soon sit down with his handlers, who include trainer Freddie Roach and promoter Sugar Ray Leonard, to plan a strategy for 2004.
More immediately, his next big date will be at an altar in Dublin on Jan. 10, when he weds his long time girlfriend, Pamela.