Bernard Dunne: Respected in the Ring and Dignified in Retirement

On 19 February 2010, Bernard Dunne announced that he had hung up his gloves for the last time and retired from professional boxing.

Dunne's contribution to boxing in Ireland cannot be understated. He brought the sport to a level of publicity and popularity not seen since the days of Barry McGuigan, who was certainly an inspiration to a young Bernard in his formative years. Without doubt, his career and legacy will be enshrined in the annals of irish sporting history.

Born in Clondalkin, Co.Dublin, Dunne had a very successful amateur career, only losing 11 out of 130 fights and capturing 13 Irish titles along the way. Despite this, Dunne, who's father once competed at the Olympics, failed to qualify for the 2000 Sydney Olympics in Australia. He still maintains that this is one of the disappointments of his entire career.

Dunne began fighting professionally in the US in 2001 under the world renowned trainer Freddie Roach, and trained with Manny Picquiao on occasion. Winning 14 bouts in the States, he returned to Ireland under manager Brian Peters and signed a television with RTÉ, thereby elevating the coverage of boxing in this country.

In 2005, The Dublin Dynamo defeated Sean Hughes to capture the IBC Super Bantamweight Title at the National Stadium. However, Dunne's breakthrough really came when he beat Esham Pickering to win the European Super-bantamweight Title on 11 November 2006. He twice defended this successfully before dropping the belt to Kiki Martinez, in a shock first round knockout at the Point Depot.

Dunne would recover from that devastating loss to contend for the WBA Super Bantamweight Title at the O2 Arena, formerly known as The Point, in Dublin. The reigning champion was the highly impressive Ricardo Cordoba, who had only lost twice previously. The Dynamo won a thrilling fight with an 11th round knockout to mark an historic day which also saw the Irish rugby team win the Six Nations Grand Slam. Coincidentally, Ireland also won a Boxing World Title when the country last won the Grand Slam 61 years ago. He was also crowned Boxer of the Month for March by the WBA on 10 April 2010.

Following his phenomenal victory over the Panamaniam southpaw, Dunne made the first defence of his title against Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym on 26 September 2009. However, after suffering a third knockdown in only the 3rd round, Bernard lost his world title to the highly rated Thai by way of KO. It was a heartbreaking moment for the Dubliner, and his fans, who had come such a long way on his journey to date.

Undoubtedly, Bernard gave inspiration to people all over the country and boosted the sport's profile almost single-handedly. His fights will forever live in the memory of those who followed his career. By retiring now, at the age of 30, Dunne is taking the wise option at this stage of his life, something that is rarely seen in the professional game. He will now have as much time as he wishes to spend with his wife and two kids.

Find out more about Bernard Dunne at BoxRec or on Facebook.