Boxing:Frank Maloney has increased his offer to newly-crowned super-bantamweight champion Bernard Dunne to €220,000, in a bid to lure him into the ring with European champion Rendall Munroe. The promoter had originally offered €165,000 to take on the Leicester fighter, who beat Kiko Martinez to take the title after the Spaniard dramatically relieved Dunne of the belt in August 2007.
Maloney has offered the €220,000 purse or a share of the promotion to the Dubliner, while Munroe is also willing to fight in Dublin. Given the fact Dunne - who was named ‘Boxer of the Month’ for March by the WBA today - is the world champion and can fill the 9,000-seater O2, the latter offer is hardly surprising.
"If Bernard doesn't accept this offer, then his promoter Brian Peters must have some incredible offers for his man,” said Maloney on his website. "I had no reply to the first offer, but I'm sure when Dunne gets wind of this one he will tell Brian to call me and thrash out the deal.
"Bernard can have home advantage and either £200,000 in his bank or a share of the profits from the promotion which could earn him even more.
"When we were ringside in Dublin for Dunne's title win against Ricardo Cordoba, Rendall kept pointing at Dunne and saying, 'Get me him.'
"Bernard can run, but he cannot hide from Rendall forever and what a shame, he seems to be avoiding his biggest rival."
Peters has yet to comment on the offer but he and Dunne are eyeing a Las Vegas fight with Mexican Israel Vazquez. Such a bout would most probably trump Maloney’s offer financially because of the opponent's profile and the more lucrative television deal that would come with an Irish-Hispanic bout in America.
Dunne recently insisted he will fight in Las Vegas at some stage this year, but Maloney and Munroe are unlikely to go away.
"Dunne versus Munroe will happen and wherever it takes place, I am confident that Rendall will win inside the distance,” added Maloney. “I challenge Bernard and Brian to prove me wrong"
If Peters does not secure a fight with Vazquez, then the top-two in the division, Celestino Caballero and Juan Manuel Lopez, could be potential opponents in Vegas.
Both fight at the end of this month, however, with Lopez due in the ring against Filipino Gerry Penalosa to defend his WBO title on the 25th.
Penalosa is ranked third in the division and is trained by Dunne's former mentor Freddie Roach. Both camps retain a good relationship and Roach recently told the Irish Timesa meeting with Dunne is a possibility.
Should he win the WBO belt against Lopez, it would offer both fighters a chance to unify the belts, though it would not be as lucrative for Dunne as a fight with a Hispanic opponent.
Experienced Panamanian Caballero has been beaten twice in 33 bouts - once by Cordoba - but remains the big draw in the division and will fight South African Jeffrey Mathebula on April 30th.
Amidst all the uncertainty, one thing is obvious. The ball is definitely in Dunne’s court.
