‘It’s My Turn Now’ – Pierce O’Leary Ready to Bring Back the Dunne Days
Pierce O’Leary knows exactly whose footsteps he is following when he ring walks at the 3Arena on March 14.
Long before it became the 3Arena, the Point Depot was the stage for one of Irish boxing’s most iconic eras, led by ‘Dublin’s favourite son’ Bernard Dunne. And as a child growing up in Dublin, O’Leary was watching from ringside.
Now, come St Patrick’s weekend, the Sheriff Street native will live a childhood dream when he fights Mark Chamberlain on the Queensberry card.
“I remember being six or seven years of age watching Bernard Dunne sell out that arena,” O’Leary recalls when speaking to Irish-boxing.com.
“Eight or nine thousand people, no social media, just boxing. That stuck with me.
Dunne’s reign at the Point became the blueprint for what a Dublin boxing star could achieve, and O’Leary admits those nights left a lasting impression.
Indeed, they inspired him. Not to mention because the Sheriff Street native grew up just a stone’s throw from the famous venue, his 3Arena desire was continuously fueled.
“When I saw all the past fighters fight there, I always wanted to be involved in it,” he said. “I always believed my time would come.
“I used to run around the Point Depot with a black bag on me,” he said. “I used to visualise it — that’s where I’m going to be one day.”
On March 14, Ireland’s only reigning EBU European Champion becomes the latest Dub to headline the arena and steps into a lineage that includes Dunne, Wicklow’s Katie Taylor, and, more recently Cork’s Callum Walsh.
“It’s my turn now,” he said simply.
‘Big Bang’ believes the comparison to Dunne goes deeper than geography. Like Dunne, O’Leary understands the responsibility that comes with headlining in Dublin.
“Bernard did it without the hype machine we have now,” O’Leary said. “That was pure connection with the people.
“There won’t be a ticket left,” he predicted. “It’s going to be sold out.”
The 25-year-old inner city native has been asking Frank Warren to take him home for quite sometime and was close to a Dublin debut last summer.
However, he feels Queensberry have got the timing right.
“If it happened years ago, I don’t think I was matured enough,” he admitted. “Now I am.
“I kept that vision alive,” he said. “And now I’m living it.”
