Machado will be tough nut for Dunne - preview by Steve Wellings Apr 11th 2008

Bernard Dunne returns to serious competitive action in Castlebar, Co Mayo on Saturday 12th April against Felix Machado as he attempts to erase the memory of his high profile European title loss last year. The Dublin super-bantamweight had amassed a perfect 24-0 record before running into the dynamite fists of Spaniard Kiko Martinez who dropped him three times to stun the Irish crowd into silence. “I was disappointed for myself and disappointed for the fans. People pay good money to see a fight and they didn't get much action that night but hopefully I can make it up this weekend,” reflected Dunne, who was making the third defence of his Euro crown that night. Martinez has since been somewhat exposed as a slightly one-dimensional powerhouse, as Leicester stylist Rendall Munroe took the title from him in Nottingham recently. Dunne is still ranked highly in the ratings and a good win here could land him a fight with Munroe somewhere down the line. In the opposite corner this weekend at the Breaffy House Resort will be a man with a fair pedigree of his own, Venezuelan Felix Machado, a grizzled 35 year-old former holder of world honours. This is Machado's 34th outing and he boasts wins over the likes of Martin Castillo, Mauricio Pastrana and Julio Gamboa, all part of a 25-7-1 (12 KO's) slate. That he has only removed 12 opponents via the short route may be a telling part of this fight as some observers believe Dunne has a suspect chin. The fact that tricky Machado is a portsider doesn't appear to faze Dunne, “He's a serious operator and a class act, and you don't win world titles unless you're a very good fighter. I've seen a few of his fights and he's a tall, rangy southpaw but I've fought southpaws before so that shouldn't be a problem.” Machado has been losing more bouts as the clock ticks by and is apparently on the slide in a career that has seen him stopped only once, on his debut way back in 1993. He lost a split in 1997 for the WBA belt in Thailand and brings a truckload of international experience, conceding his previous two contests on points. Dunne likes to hook to the body and sets a relatively fast pace but how will he react when tagged with a flush shot? Only time will tell, Dunne has beaten good fighters before like Esham Pickering and Yuri Voronin and was arguably caught cold by Martinez and never recovered. Machado isn't the sort to get stopped easily but I don't think he has enough to beat the younger, fresher man in this contest. Dunne will do well to keep his hands high, attack the body and outwork his man for a ten round points victory. Also on this bill, light-welterweight Andrew Murray is certainly being kept busy with three fights in as many weeks when he tackles dangerous Wellington De Jesus. Murray has discovered a vicious streak of late and stopped his last two, but De Jesus is 13-1 (8 KO's) and figures to offer sterner opposition. That said, he has been built up on novices in his native Brazil and the record is severely bloated. The first time he ventured abroad he was stopped in three rounds by Ali Chebah. Murray can also stop him, maybe sometime after the half way mark. Promising John O'Donnell is hoping to forget his last contest out in America as he tackles Artur Jashkul at welterweight. O'Donnell suffered his first defeat in two rounds in Las Vegas after going 15-0 and impressing many people as a possible future star. Jashkul is tough and took Stephen Haughian the six rounds but is used to losing and 22 year-old O'Donnell will have too much for him over the distance. Local Cruiserweight Michael Sweeney was disappointed with a majority draw on his American debut and aims to bounce back in front of a home crowd when he meets Roland Horvath over 6x3's. Cuban heavyweight talent Mike Perez returns from a brief injury against Ivor Marinchev over the same distance. Touted middleweight Grzegorz Proksa is a supposed hot prospect to watch out for and the Pole goes in with Jairo Alvarez. Making up the eight card show is debutant Keith Cresham who meets game Andrei Tolstihs, a man yet to win a contest in eight attempts (one draw) and cruiser Jamie Power debuts with Leonid Dimitrichenko over 4x3's. Brian Peters promotes this Hunky Dory's fight night which will be televised live on RTE 2 across Ireland.

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Show Changes Apr 12th 2008, 03:41:05 by steve_wellings Some slight changes have been made to this show since the preview was written. Firstly, Mike Perez is now facing Howard Daley, which would appear a better fight and Adnan Amar is now slated to fight Artur Jashkul instead of John O'Donnell who was originally scheduled to meet Jashkul. Both are for reasons unknown. Weights' press release to follow. Cheers, Steve