Western Warriors

3 October 2008 – by Cormac Campbell

Irish super-bantamweight star Bernard Dunne returns to the ring at the Breaffy House Resort in Castlebar, on November 15 against a yet to be confirmed opponent.

It will be Dunnes second outing in County Mayo having dispatched of Felix Machado at the venue in April of this year.

It is hoped the contest will be the Dubliners final stepping stone as he seeks an opportunity to fight for the European title he lost last year to Kiko Martinez against incumbent champion Rendall Munroe or indeed a crack at the World title. Although no opponent has yet been named, Promoter Brian Peters is adamant that a strong test will be secured.

Were working on a shortlist of opponents at the moment, he said.

We want someone who is really going to test Bernard so that he will prove hes ready to step up to world title level. Theres no doubt the defeat to Martinez upset the applecart and set us back about twelve months but Bernard has had two good wins since then that have put him back in the world ratings. Hes now world ranked by the WBA, the WBC and the WBO so were pretty much back on track in terms of positioning Bernard for a World title fight.

Also featuring on the Brian Peters Promotions card is Chicago based Mayoman Henry Coyle. A native of Geesala, the bout will finally provide fans of the Western Warrior an opportunity to catch the KO artist on home soil for the first time as a professional.

Former amateur star Coyle (8-1, 8KO) is also thrilled at the prospect of a homecoming.

Its always been a dream of mine to fight as a pro in Ireland, he said.

To get a chance right here at home in Mayo is the icing on the cake. The last time I fought at home was for my very last amateur fight so it will be great to come back as a professional now.

It is hoped the bout will further Coyles options at light middleweight, where a number of lucrative domestic match-ups can be made.

James Moore, Jamie Moore and John Duddy all populate the light middleweight scene and it is the former, a former amateur rival of Coyles, that he would most like to face.

(current Irish champion) Jamie Moore is a fantastic fighter who Id love to spar with because I really admire him, he said.

I know Im not in his league yet but thats obviously what Im working towards. I hear that Jamie will be fighting for the European title soon so he might vacate the Irish which might give me a chance to fight for it.

Id fight James Moore in the morning. I think hes said that hed like the fight as well. I honestly believe that would be such a punishing fight that it would be a career ending fight for the loser but I can only see one winner. That would be something else though, wed a great rivalry in the amateurs Im sure it would be the fight of the decade if we met again in the pros.

Tickets for the Hunky Dorys Fight Night priced from 60 go on sale tomorrow (Friday, October 3rd) from 9am at Ticketmaster and all usual outlets.