Dunne looks to raise his profile in Europe

Boxing News Thus far Bernard Dunne has impressed in the US and Ireland. As his manager Brian Peters steers him closer to a fight of international significance, Dunne this weekend travels to Germany in the hope of bringing his perfect record to 18 wins from 18 fights.

Germany represents his first professional foray into Europe as the unbeaten Dubliner takes on Marian Leondraliu in Leipzig on Saturday night.

Topping the bill is the IBF world middleweight title clash between the locally based Armenian Arthur Abraham and Nigerian Kingsley Ikeke, with the Dunne non-title fight representing one more notch in his belt going into 2006.

Dunne will feature in the fight before the main event in front of an expected European TV audience of over six million. The Neilstown man's Irish fans will be catered for too, with RTÉ 2 televising the fight live from the Leipzig Arena.

Coverage begins at 8.30pm and continues until 10.30pm.

Last time out at the National Stadium Dunne won the IBC super bantamweight title, a belt of little real significance except as a marker to everyone in the division that here is a boxer on the way up.

Nonetheless, Dunne's demolition of Seán Hughes arrived in an explosive second round that once again illustrated what a dangerous fighter he can be. That title will not be on the line on Saturday night as the opportunity to get on the card arrived at short notice.

"I'm continually getting offers from both sides of the Atlantic for Bernard," said Peters.

"There's a lot of interest in him returning to the US to fight and that's certainly something we'll be looking at in the future. This opportunity came up at short notice but we felt it was just too good to pass up. The exposure this will give Bernard is tremendous and it's a great showcase for him to increase his profile on the Continent."

Leondraliu, an experienced Romanian, had been due to fight WBU featherweight champion, Steve Foster jnr in London on Saturday night but when that fell through he quickly accepted the offer of a fight with Dunne.

"This guy has been in training for a fight with Foster so he'll be in great shape," said Peters.

"He's campaigned as high as light welterweight previously and clashed with world-rated fighters like Souleymane M'baye and Mohamad Abdulaev. In fact M'baye is the mandatory challenger for Ricky Hatton's titles, which tells you the kind of calibre of opponent Leondraliu has been mixing with."

Dunne remains unbeaten in 17 fights since turning professional almost four years ago. His first 14 contests were staged in America before he returned to Dublin last year. Since his homecoming the 25-year-old has added a further three wins.

"This is a great opportunity for me to round off a great year in style," said Dunne. "To be fighting on such a big stage is fantastic and I'll be looking to win some new fans in Europe with a great performance."