Dunne must ensure ‘dream’ job doesn’t turn into nightmare
BRAVERY was something Bernard Dunne was never short of during his amateur and professional career. He’s still one very brave man after applying for, and accepting, Billy Walsh’s old post as high performance director of Irish boxing.
Dunne, in fact, despite having a suspect chin late in his career has many things going for him – the experience of climbing the whole way to a world title is one huge asset, but so too is his natural charm.
Everyone knows he’s going to need everything he’s got as he tries to match the achievements of his predecessor, Billy Walsh. But after making Ireland a shining example in world boxing, Walsh did not get a wholehearted thank you from the gentlemen who call the shots in the sport in this country.
Walsh move to the United States to receive the respect he deserves. And in his absence Ireland quickly went ‘south’. Indeed, by the middle of last summer we found our boxers creating all the wrong stories at the Olympics.
The team performed so badly that their budget has been cut by €200,000 this year.
But Dunne claims to know exactly what he is getting himself into. ‘I’m giving up an awful lot to take on this role,’ he stated on Thursday last, before adding: ‘This is the dream job.’ Now we must hope that Dunne can add flesh, and success, to those same dreams. And we must hope that he is not stopped in his tracks by others within the Irish Amateur Boxing Association who, in the past, have had a habit of getting in the way of the high performance director.
Walsh was frustrated by having his chosen teams confirmed by a committee within the IABA. Walsh has also spoken to Dunne and congratulated him, we were informed this week. We should hope that theirs was a long discussion.
Bernard Dunne has not been able to confirm that the absolute say on who represents Ireland will be his, and his alone.
In a ‘dream job’ surely his decisions should be final.