Bernard Dunne: Defending his super-bantamweight title tonight
When Bernard Dunne took the European Boxing Union Super-bantamweight title from Esham Pickering last November, at the Point in Dublin, more than 500,000 viewers tuned in. His first defence, against Yersin Jailauov of Kazakhstan in March, ended after three rounds. For his second defence - probably the penultimate one before he takes a tilt at the world title - Dunne takes on Reidar Walstad tonight, with coverage on RTÉ2 from 9.30pm.
The Dubliner hasn't been beaten on Irish soil since his first fight, at the age of 11 - although he and Walstad have a history. "He beat me when I was an amateur, so he's going to be confident. It was a long time ago, back when I was 17. I was a different fighter back then, and I have improved dramatically since. I'm top dog in Europe now."
The past week has seen Dunne trying to meet his fight weight of 55.3kg, or 8st 10lb. "It's not the easiest thing in the world for me, because I am 5ft 7in, so I've basically been starving all the time. After the fight I plan to gorge myself," he says with relish. He won't reveal if he is aiming for a knockout in a particular round. "Boxing is all about tactics. It's a thinking man's game. You are looking to see things before they happen. I'll be looking to knock him out as early as I can, but you wait for the right moment."
So what will today's lead-up to the fight be like? "It's all about relaxing and rehydrating as much as possible. I am staying in a hotel, so I will have a late breakfast. My wife, Pamela, and my child will come to see me. I might head out for a walk around Dublin for a stretch. I will have a lunch of pasta, chicken, rice - lots of protein and carbs. I'll be talking to Harry [ Hawkins, his trainer] all day. About two hours before the fight we head for the venue. I check into the changingroom, meet the ref, do my stretching routine. Then I get the hands wrapped and an official comes in to check that I haven't got a steel bar in there or anything. For the final warm-up I do some shadow boxing. He will be called out first, and I will wait behind the curtain. Then they call my name and I start the walk to the ring. The adrenalin rush when you walk out in front of a home crowd is like an electric current. It's the most exciting thing you have ever experienced."