Richard Dunn (boxer)
Richard Dunn (born 19 January 1945, in Halifax)[1] is an English former heavyweight boxer who was the British (1975-76), European (1976) and Commonwealth (1975-76) Champion. He unsuccessfully challenged Muhammad Ali for the World Heavyweight title in 1976.[2]
| Richard Dunn | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Heavyweight |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Nationality |  |
| Born | 19 January 1945 Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 45 |
| Wins | 33 |
| Wins by KO | 16 |
| Losses | 12 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0[1] |
Early life
Dunn played rugby in his teens and early 20s. Starting boxing as an amateur in the early 1960s, he turned professional in his mid-20s whilst continuing to work as a scaffolder, living in Bradford, West Yorkshire. He was unable to afford the expense of sparring partners to train with for most of his career, and his coach was his father-in-law.[3] He was a soldier in the British Army, serving as a non-commissioned officer with 4th Battalion, Parachute Regiment in the 1960s-70s, being awarded the Corps' Fishmongers' Trophy in 1974.[4]
Boxing career
A southpaw, Dunn's professional career began with a win over Cardiff fighter Del Phillips in a heavyweight eliminator competition in Mayfair, London in July 1969. His second fight was on the same day in the semi-final. It was a first-round defeat against Danny McAlinden, who dispatched all three of his opponents in under three rounds to win the competition. However, in May 1973, Dunn defeated Billy Aird on points in an eliminator for the British Heavyweight Championship at Grosvenor House in London. He lost the final eliminator against Bunny Johnson, in October, after a tenth-round knockout at the King's Hall in Manchester. However, when he faced the same opponent at the Empire Pool at Wembley for both the British and Commonwealth titles in September 1975, he prevailed on points, after 15 rounds.
He made his first defence against McAlindon two months later. However, this time it was Dunn that won with a knockout after McAlinden went down three times in the second round.
On 6 April 1976 Dunn won the European Heavyweight Title by a third-round TKO of the German boxer Bernd August at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
On 24 May 1976 Dunn was given the chance of fighting for the WBC and WBA titles against the American champion Muhammad Ali at the Olympic Hall in Munich, Germany, for which he received £52,000[5] (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £658,500 in 2017).[6] Dunn, despite fighting in a spirited fashion, found himself seriously outmatched by Ali in power and technique, being knocked down several times by the American champion, who clearly realized the un-equalness of the competition in his favour and began to land carefully timed and weighted punches to stun Dunn but minimize the chance of physical injury to him as the fight went on. At the 2:05 minute mark in the fifth round Dunn went to the floor for the final time and the referee stopped the match in a technical knock-out, with Ali playing to the crowd comically windmilling a punch that was coming that would be overwhelming, and to encourage the referee to end the match as having run its course. (This was to be the last knockout Ali achieved in his professional career).[7]
Dunn lost his next fight in London five months later with Joe Bugner, surrendering all his titles in a first-round knock-out. His final fight was a fifth-round knock-out defeat to the South African boxer Kallie Knoetze at the Ellis Park Tennis Stadium in Johannesburg on 10 September 1977, after which Dunn retired from the sport.
Dunn was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1976 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews just ahead of his fight with Muhammad Ali.[8]
Post-career civic honours
The 'Richard Dunn Sports Centre' was opened by Bradford Council in Dunn's home town in 1978, named in honour of his sporting achievements. The facility was closed in November 2019, and is due to be demolished in 2020, with the Council announcing the intention to name a new road on the site after Dunn in the future.[9][10]
Later life
After his sports career, having lost money in a failed hotel venture, Dunn lived in Scarborough, North Yorkshire with his wife Janet and three children, returning to work as a scaffolder. He was seriously injured in 1989 on an oil rig in the North Sea after a 40ft fall which broke both of his legs.[11] In retirement he lives in Scarborough, where he has been associated with charity work for Parkinson's UK and is the honorary president of the town's amateur boxing club.[12][13]
Professional boxing record
| 33 Wins (16 knockouts, 17 decisions), 12 Losses (11 knockouts, 1 decision) [14] | |||||||
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 12-2 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
KO | 5 | 10 Sep 1977 | |
|
| Loss | 51-7-1 | |
KO | 1 | 12 Oct 1976 |  |
BBBofC British/Commonwealth/EBU Heavyweight Titles. |
| Loss | 51-2 |  |
TKO | 5 | 24 May 1976 |  |
WBA/WBC World Heavyweight Titles. Referee stopped the bout at 2:05 of the fifth round. |
| Win | 21-2-1 | |
TKO | 3 | 6 Apr 1976 | |
EBU Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:38 of the third round. |
| Win | 32-12-1 | |
TKO | 3 | 25 Nov 1975 | |
Referee stopped the bout at 2:29 of the third round. |
| Win | 27-5-2 | |
KO | 2 | 4 Nov 1975 | |
BBBofC British/Commonwealth Heavyweight Titles. |
| Win | 43-6 |  |
PTS | 15 | 30 Sep 1975 | |
BBBofC British/Commonwealth Heavyweight Titles. |
| Win | 22-17-3 |  |
TKO | 7 | 7 May 1975 | |
|
| Win | 5-1 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
TKO | 4 | 17 Feb 1975 | |
|
| Win | 8-2-1 | |
PTS | 8 | 9 Sep 1974 | |
79-78. |
| Loss | 44-5-3 |  |
KO | 4 | 22 May 1974 | |
|
| Loss | 2-1-2 |  |
KO | 7 | 11 Apr 1974 | |
|
| Loss | 9-4-1 | |
TKO | 8 | 18 Feb 1974 | |
|
| Win | 12-2 | |
TKO | 10 | 14 Jan 1974 | |
Referee stopped the bout at 2:50 of the tenth round. |
| Loss | 34-6 | |
KO | 10 | 11 Oct 1973 |  |
BBBofC British Heavyweight Title Eliminator. |
| Win | 12-5 | |
TKO | 4 | 9 Jul 1973 | |
|
| Win | 13-5-2 | |
PTS | 10 | 14 May 1973 | |
BBBofC British Heavyweight Title Eliminator. 49.25-48-75. |
| Win | 21-7 | |
KO | 3 | 15 Mar 1973 | |
|
| Win | 17-5 | |
DQ | 3 | 13 Feb 1973 | |
|
| Win | 17-2 | |
PTS | 8 | 15 Jan 1973 | |
39-38. |
| Win | 24-10-5 | |
PTS | 8 | 20 Nov 1972 | |
39.5-39.25. |
| Win | 16-5 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
KO | 1 | 16 Oct 1972 | |
Renaud knocked out at 1:45 of the first round. |
| Win | 21-6-3 | |
PTS | 10 | 21 Mar 1972 |  |
|
| Win | 3-2 | |
KO | 1 | 21 Feb 1972 | |
|
| Loss | 18-11-1 | |
TKO | 1 | 9 Dec 1971 | |
|
| Win | 11-3 | |
TKO | 4 | 24 Nov 1971 |  |
|
| Win | 31-10 | |
PTS | 8 | 22 Sep 1971 | |
|
| Win | 8-2 | |
PTS | 8 | 22 Jun 1971 | |
|
| Win | 22-4 | |
PTS | 8 | 13 Apr 1971 | |
|
| Win | 7-3-2 | |
PTS | 8 | 25 Jan 1971 | |
|
| Win | 6-1 | |
KO | 1 | 14 Dec 1970 | |
|
| Loss | 8-18-4 | |
TKO | 1 | 2 Nov 1970 | |
|
| Loss | 6-1 | |
TKO | 6 | 7 Sep 1970 | |
BBBofC Central Heavyweight Title. |
| Win | 9-16-2 | |
TKO | 5 | 21 May 1970 | |
|
| Win | 12-25-3 | |
PTS | 6 | 4 May 1970 | |
|
| Win | 9-15-2 | |
PTS | 6 | 31 Mar 1970 | |
|
| Loss | 4-1 | |
PTS | 8 | 23 Feb 1970 | |
|
| Win | 18-22-3 | |
PTS | 6 | 25 Nov 1969 | |
|
| Win | 5-15-3 | |
TKO | 2 | 3 Nov 1969 | |
|
| Win | 3-3 | |
PTS | 3 | 3 Nov 1969 | |
|
| Win | 4-0 | |
PTS | 3 | 3 Nov 1969 | |
|
| Win | 2-4 | |
TKO | 3 | 13 Oct 1969 | |
|
| Win | 2-3 | |
TKO | 2 | 8 Sep 1969 | |
|
| Win | 7-0-1 | |
PTS | 3 | 7 Jul 1969 | |
|
| Loss | -- | |
KO | 1 | 7 Jul 1969 | |
|
References
- "Richard Dunn". Boxing Stats. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
- Profile of Richard Dunn's boxing career, 'BoxRec' website (2020). https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/9391
- 'Richard Dunn: Yorkshire lad on a perilous mission', New York Times, 23 May 1976.
- Military biography of Richard Dunn, 'Para Data' website (2020). https://www.paradata.org.uk/people/richard-dunn
- "For fighting Muhammad Ali I got £52,000 says Richard Dunn but David Haye will get millions against useless lumps - and good luck to him". London: dailymail.co.uk. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- "Measuring Worth - Relative Value of UK Pounds". Measuring Worth. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- Muhammad Ali vs Richard Dunn, 24 May 1976, published on Youtube 7 April 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGkLv5AKZ9E&t=272s
- "Richard Dunn". Bigredbook.info. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- 'Bradford Street to be named after Richard Dunn,' BBC News, 17 January 2020. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-51146371
- Bradford Metropolitan District Council | Sports and Leisure facilities | Richard Dunn Sports Centre
- 'Where are they now?: Richard Dunn', 'The Independent, 13 April 1993. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/where-are-they-now-richard-dunn-1454973.html
- "For fighting Muhammad Ali I got £52,000 says Richard Dunn but David Haye will get millions against useless lumps - and good luck to him". Daily Mail. London.
- 'Muhammad Ali beating me was the highlight of my life, says Richard Dunn', Daily Telegraph', 5 June 2016. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/boxing/2016/06/05/muhammad-ali-beating-me-was-the-highlight-of-my-life-says-richar/
- Richard Dunn - Boxer