Dunne lines up tough opponent in Wilders

BOXING: Dublin's Bernard Dunne has been lined up to meet former European and British bantamweight champion Noel Wilders at the National Stadium, Dublin, on January 28th. The bout is part of an attractive package which also includes Dublin-born Michael Gomez against Peter McDonagh, and Brian Magee. Belfast super middleweight Magee will take the opportunity to warm up ahead of his British and Commonwealth title showdown with Carl Froch in March.

Dunne had been scheduled to meet the Yorkshire man last October but Wilders pulled out at short notice leaving his stable mate Sean Hughes to step into the breach.

"This is going to be a big year for Bernard and the year in which he really will look to make his mark on the world stage," said manager Brian Peters. "The stakes are getting much higher for Bernard now because the calibre of opponents he will be stepping in with will ask him some very serious questions indeed."

The Castleford-based southpaw has a good track record, having won the European bantamweight title in 2003. Wilders had to do it the hard way, travelling to France to win against Fabien Guillerme.

He successfully defended the title once before losing it in Sheffield the same year to David Geuralt. It is clearly a step up in quality for Dunne, something he promised to do this year in the quest to earn a well-regarded European title.