Dune excited by Machado bout

07 April 2008 – by Mark Doyle

Bernard Dunne has admitted that he cannot wait to get back into the ring after losing his European super-bantamweight title to Kiko Martinez in brutal fashion last year.

The Dubliner will go up against former flyweight world champion Felix Machado in Castlebar, Mayo on Saturday night and is confident that there will be no signs of ring rust after his eight-month lay-off following his shock knockout defeat at the heavy hands of La Sensacion.

I was disappointed for myself and disappointed for the fans after the Martinez fight, he admitted. People pay good money to see a fight and they didnt get much action that night. But hopefully I can make it up this weekend.

Im in great form and my training camp has gone really well. Im just very excited about the fight and looking forward to putting on a good performance.

Machados a serious operator and a class act: you dont win world titles unless youre a very good fighter.

Ive seen a few of his fights and hes a tall, rangy southpaw but Ive fought southpaws before os that shouldnt be a problem.

And Dunne is excited by the prospect of fighting outside his comfort zone in Dublin and is anticipating a terrific atmosphere in Castlebar.

Brian Peters [promoter] has had the idea of bringing the show on the road for quite a while now. Its something new so hopefully the atmosphere that the fights used to generate at the National Stadium and The Point will travel well to Mayo, Dunne enthused.

Meanwhile, on an intriguing undercard, the highly-rated Irish welterweight champion Andrews Murray will put his unbeaten record on the line in a potentially explosive bout with the very dangerous David Rodela.

A good friend of legendary scrapper Fernando Vargas, Rodela boasts an outstanding amateur record, with seven U.S. national titles to his name, and has only tasted defeat once in his professional career.

Elsewhere, Keith Cresham should bring the house down as the Castlebar native will be making his pro debut on the bill.

Ballinrobes unbeaten fighter, Michael Sweeney, should also be cheered on vociferously by the local fans and there should also be some strong home support for London-based Galwayman John ODonnell.

Meanwhile, Cuban heavyweight Mike Perez will hoping to make up for a laboured performance in his last outing when he takes to the ring on Saturday night.

Limerickman Jamie Power will be hoping to impress on his debut, while Grzegorz Proksa will be hoping to rack up another victory in his bout with Venezuelas Jairo Alvarez.