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December 2000
Each month we bring you a selection of articles from the current and past issues of BOXING MONTHLY. To buy the magazine, see our subscription or back issues pages, or use our world distribution map to find a news-stand copy. Why not use our Interactive Forum to express your own boxing comments and opinions!
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DUNNE IS NO. 1
For years people had speculated as to the outcome of a lightweight clash between Colin Dunne and Billy Schwer - and now we know. RUTH MASON talks with the winner |
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DEFINING FIGHT?: will the win over Schwer be the highpoint of Dunne's career or is greater success ahead?
- Get Big Pic BM: The fight was a thrilling classic. Promoter John Hyland summed it all up, when he said: `Boxing was a big winner.' What did the victory mean to you? CD: It was a monumental win. When I started out in boxing, I came to London. I was in the amateurs for two and a half years. Then, I turned pro. I had about half a dozen fights. I was sparring with Billy. At the time, Billy was British champion. He was always someone I looked up to. Suddenly, he's fighting me, for my title. It's hard to sum it into words. How magnificent a win it was for me. And how great I feel about it. I'm not one to blow my own trumpet. But I put a lot of hard work into what I do. When I sparred with Billy, I always felt I was the better boxer. Laymen, and even people on the telly, say: 'Oh, Billy's a great boxer. He's a good technician. Colin Dunne's a brawler.' I think, they don't even know me. BM: Do you believe you proved Colin Dunne is a true world champion, no matter what people say about the WBU's credentials? CD: In 20 years time, when the WBU's still about, it's going to be a credible world body. Does it have to wait that amount of time, before it's credible? The WBC's been around longer. But it's still a self-appointed body. So are the WBA, IBF and the WBO. So, which one's the best? Which one's more credible? At the end of the day, I've proved myself. I've won the title. I might not have won a British or European. But, I think in my four defences, I've proved I am world class. BM: It must be frustrating because all of your contests for the organisation have been against decent opposition (Zoltan Kalocsai, Emmanuel Clottey, Affif Djelti, Phillip Holiday and Billy Schwer). CD: I'm not mentioning names. But I know there's people who've had a lot easier defences of their world titles. Alright, you could say, Kalocsai wasn't top class. But he took George Scott 12 rounds and had him in trouble a few times. George Scott went to America and took on Stevie Johnston. Djelti might have been 38, but he's come over here and knocked everyone out. I can't understand, how I haven't been given the credit. All the scribes didn't have me winning the Phillip Holiday fight. Phillip Holiday lost one fight, to Shane Mosley. Mosley's just done a job on Oscar De La Hoya. Holiday came over here to take my title. I beat him hands down. It wasn't a split decision. Nor could it have gone either way. I did the same with Billy Schwer. I was disgusted at the split decision. I thought, I comfortably won the fight. I made a rude comment when they shouted out the split decision. I said: 'Bollocks.' John Hyland said: 'Don't worry, you've won it.' I won the fight. No one can take that away from me. I've got the ability to stand in front of someone, land the shots and at the same time make them miss. BM: How nervous were you before the fight? CD: You go through different feelings with every fight. I can honestly say, I was very relaxed. After sparring with Billy, I knew Billy only knows one way to fight. I was confident I had the armoury to come back and win the fight. I knew I had the tools to do the job. I had inner confidence. BM: Was Billy over-confident? CD: I haven't said that. A couple of people said, he came across as being very confident. I just think, he was very relaxed. You have to be confident. You couldn't climb into the ring if you weren't confident. BM: Were you surprised by how easy Billy was to hit, with your right hand? CD: Not at all. Billy hasn't got a lot of lateral movement. BM: Your right eye was badly cut in the fourth and Schwer hurt you a couple of times. When you're in such a close fight, they say, the man that wants it most wins. What drove you on to win? CD: Every fight's different. When I'm in a fight, I'm in a fight. I'm 100% concentrating. The cut didn't get in my way. When you're a professional of my standing, you have the ups and downs of sparring. You get caught with good shots. You can't lose your temper. You don't win fights that way. You've got to take what's being thrown at you. Accept it and get on with it. That's my attitude. Just get on with it. I took the fight, round by round. The last round, they said, Billy had a good round. By then, I knew I had the fight won. You could have hit me with a sledgehammer and you wouldn't have got me out of there. I just gritted my teeth. BM: Your last good win was over the former IBF champion Phillip Holiday. The only lightweight to have taken Shane Mosley the distance. An eye injury prevented you from building on the win. How did you stay motivated during the 17 months out of action? CD: It was an absolute nightmare. I took it week by week, month by month. I went to see a guy in Harley St, Pat Whitfield. He said: 'You're not going to box until September.' That was in April. I couldn't accept it. I was training all the time. After September, John Hyland said: 'You're boxing October.' Then he said, November. Then he said December. Then I was due to fight in February 2000, but I got two bouts of flu. But I just kept my focus. I was going to get back in there. My life is boxing. BM: The only blemish on your record is a ninth round stoppage defeat by Michael Ayers in 1996 for the British crown. It was a tremendous battle. Ayers is now the IBO champion, fighting better than ever. Do you want to avenge the loss? CD: Yeah, it's a natural return. I don't know how many more years Michael's going to go on for. He's ageless. He doesn't have easy fights. It's between the promoters. There's a lot of red tape. I know I'd beat Michael. I should've beat him the first time. I was too young. I didn't have the experience. I didn't listen to my corner. I kept thinking, I've won the fight. Before the fight, I'd thought about it. I'm going to do this, do that. After the first round, I'd done it. I thought, this is going to be over in three rounds. Michael's striving for recognition. He's worked damned hard. He's defeated me. I've gone on to greater things. He's got a world body, I've got a world body. It would be another epic. Let's get it on! BM: All of your WBU contests have gone the distance. Are you keen to turn the 'Dynamo' pressure into knockouts? CD: I always aim to have an early night. But I can do 12 rounds. BM: You've been with your trainer, Colin Lake, since day one. In an age when fighters change trainers, at the drop of a hat, what do you think makes your relationship so enduring? CD: I've got belief in him. He's got belief in me. I've had my moments when I've thought, I can do without this guy. Them moments only last about 10 seconds. I'm a good trainer, but it's good to have someone on your back. There's not many trainers around like him. I think he's about the only one. He's constantly on my case. About what I'm eating, what I'm doing, where I'm going. It can be an invasion of my privacy. There've been times when I could've strangled him. But it's allowed me to get where I am. He's got his own methods. It's proved successful. Why change? When you've worked with someone as experienced as Colin, I interpret that when I look at other trainers. I've realised how amateur some of them professional trainers are. I wouldn't want to be in their care. Colin's main aim is for me to get out of the game with as much money and with all my apples intact. He wouldn't see me hurt for the world. He protects me in every way. He's a rock. BM: All training and no play, makes Colin a dull boy. What do you get up to outside the ropes? CD: Not a lot. I've got a girlfriend who I see three or four times a week. I don't have any major hobbies. I don't follow football. Boxing becomes a way of life. I've got a fascination with architecture. I'd like to design and build properties. I enjoy getting my hands dirty. I want to buy a bit of land and build a house in Liverpool. I've got a little two-year-old boy, Callum, in Liverpool. He's someone I want to be a much bigger part of my life. I'm having to sacrifice being around him for the next couple of years. |
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