Maloney rules out Dunne-Munroe

14 September 2008 – by Mark Doyle

Frank Maloney has revealed that Bernard Dunne is out of the running to be Rendall Munroes next opponent.

Irish star Dunne lost his European super-banatamweight title and his undefeated record when he was sensationally stopped inside 90 seconds of his clash with Kiko Martinez in Dublin last year.

Martinez was promptly dethroned by Munroe, who claimed a majority points win over The Spaniard in March.

Munroe has since made two successful defences of the belt and there had been speculation that his third outing as champion might be a lucrative and fascinating match-up with Dunne.

However, Maloney has declared the fight dead in the water because of their respective television deals.

“Dunne has had his chance and will have to wait at least 18 months for a mandatory fight,” the promoter is quoted as saying by PA Sport. “Munroe is now looking elsewhere and Dunne is off the radar.”

And, according to Maloney, he has narrowed his search down to three fighters.

“I expect to name Rendall’s next challenger inside 10 days, he revealed. We have three names in the frame at the moment.

“In the next week I will discuss the options with Rendall, his manager Mike Shinfield and trainer Jason Shinfield.”