Bernard Dunne continues his European campaign next month when he travels to Italy for a fight with Sergio Carlos Santillan.
Dunne made a successful continental debut last October when he stopped Marian Leondraliu in Germany. He followed that up with an impressive sixth round win over former European champ Noel Wilders back home in Dublin but he's now ready to hit the road once again for Santillan.
The 26-year-old "Irish Rover" will be looking for his twentieth straight win as a professional against Santillan, an Argentinean who currently holds the South American title and is a former Argentinean champion.
The fight takes place in Rivarolo Canavese, just outside of Turin (with coverage of the bout on RTE 2, April 3rd). Dunne is no stranger to the region having fought in Turin as an amateur.
"I fought in Italy a couple of time in the amateurs and I loved it there," said Dunne. "One of the fights was in Turin and another was in Venice. It's a beautiful country and hopefully I'll win a few new fans over there when I fight Santillan."
Dunne has seen a couple of tapes of the 32-year-old Argentinean and he says he expects a tough night's work. "He has a decent record and has only been stopped once. He looks to be a very rough and rugged kind of guy who can be dangerous with the head so I'll have to be very careful."
"The plan is to outbox him and keep my focus like I did against Leondraliu so I'll be looking for another performance like that."
Dunne is hopeful that a win will see him take another step closer to a shot at European Champion, Michael Hunter. "Everything I'm doing at the moment in my career is geared towards that fight taking place before the end of this year. That's the fight I want but obviously I need to get past the likes of Santillan first. These are the kind of fights I need to ensure that I'm ready to take the European title from Hunter.
Dunne's manager Brian Peters says he's happy to take Dunne back on the road once again. "I think the fight in Germany last year was a great experience for Bernard. Nothing compares to the atmosphere when he fights back home in Dublin but these fights abroad are essential for Bernard too."
"It also raises his profile across Europe. They were very keen to have him back in Germany but we've decided to go with Italy this time and showcase Bernard to another new audience. It's important too of course that his Irish fans don't miss out. No doubt there will be a good band of supporters travelling out to support Bernard but for those that can't it's great that they'll be able to catch it on RTE."