February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The scheduled 10-rounder at the Aldrich Arena will be the co-feature on the Showtime cable network’s “ShowBox: The Next Generation” boxing series, whose broadcast starts at 11 p.m. (EST) with a junior middleweight contest between Matt Vanda and Armando Velardez.
“I don’t know an awful lot about him,” Dunne said of his 14th opponent after arriving in St. Paul from his Los Angeles base last weekend. “What I know is that he’s southpaw and that he’s tall and strong. But we’ll see how he reacts to being hit. I’m the toughest opponent he’s faced.”
What kind of challenge does the twice-beaten Valdez (14-2-3, 6 KOs) face? He’ll be going up in weight to take on the 126-pound Dunne, who’s campaigned as a featherweight since his amateur days and has a good knockout ratio.
Whereas Valdez has registered just six KOs in 19 fights, Dunne has whacked out eight of the 13 men that have confronted him.
The Irishman is also likely to be the better technician. He’ll enter the ring with a vast amateur background garnered from 119 fights in the unpaid ranks, of which he only lost 11.
Valdez, on the other hand, has been learning the Noble Art on the job. He turned professional in 1999 after only 15 amateur contests, three of which he lost.
Still, Valdez is expected to give Dunne the mightiest of tests. What he may lack in experience he makes up for in heart and that stirring old Mexican ring gusto that has been one of the hallmarks of great fighters from south of the border.
Valdez trains fighting cocks in his hometown of Juarez, and he is no less fierce in the ring himself.
“They like me in Juarez because I give exciting fights,” he said last week.
Valdez also has good technical skills and fights on the outside, which when you factor in his height advantage, has the potential to frustrate the 5-foot-7 Dunne.
And although a southpaw by nature, the Mexican can fight right-handed as well.
Dunne, the right hand he injured in his last fight six weeks ago now completely healed, declared himself in great shape at the weekend.
Anything less could mean a rough 10 rounds for the Irish prospect.