Richard Dunn (boxer)

Richard Dunn (born 19 January 1945) 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Early life

Richard Dunn was born in Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire on 19 January 1945.<ref name="Boxing stats"/> He 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.<ref>'Richard Dunn: Yorkshire lad on a perilous mission', New York Times, 23 May 1976.</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.

British title

Dunn made his first defence against McAlinden 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.

Title shot

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. 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 canvas 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.)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Aftermath

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.Template:Citation needed

Post-career civic honours

File:Richard Dunn’s sports centre - geograph.org.uk - 16164.jpg

Richard Dunn Sports Centre, Odsal Top, Bradford

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 was 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However the future of the unused leisure centre is now in doubt, after Historic England granted the building Grade II listed status, following an appeal by the Twentieth Century Society.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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 40 ft fall which broke both of his legs.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Dunn has dementia and Alzheimer's disease.<ref name="bbcn">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Professional boxing record

Template:S-start |- |align="center" colspan=8|33 Wins (16 knockouts, 17 decisions), 12 Losses (11 knockouts, 1 decision) <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> |- | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Result | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Record | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponent | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Round | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location | align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes |-align=center |Template:No2Loss |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Kallie Knoetze |KO |5 |10 Sep 1977 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Ellis Park Tennis Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa |align=left| |- |Template:No2Loss |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Joe Bugner |KO |1 |12 Oct 1976 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Empire Pool, London, England |align=left|Template:Small |- |Template:No2Loss |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Muhammad Ali |TKO |5 |24 May 1976 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany |align=left|Template:Small |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Bernd August |TKO |3 |6 Apr 1976 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Royal Albert Hall, London, England |align=left|Template:Small |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Terry Krueger |TKO |3 |25 Nov 1975 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Royal Albert Hall, London, England |align=left|Template:Small |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Danny McAlinden |KO |2 |4 Nov 1975 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Empire Pool, London, England |align=left|Template:Small |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Bunny Johnson |PTS |15 |30 Sep 1975 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Empire Pool, London, England |align=left|Template:Small |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Rocky Campbell |TKO |7 |7 May 1975 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Solihull Civic Hall, Solihull, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Neville Meade |TKO |4 |17 Feb 1975 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Grosvenor House, London, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Tim Wood |PTS |8 |9 Sep 1974 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Grosvenor House, London, England |align=left| |- |Template:No2Loss |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Jose Manuel Urtain |KO |4 |22 May 1974 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Madrid, Spain |align=left| |- |Template:No2Loss |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Ngozika Ekwelum |KO |7 |11 Apr 1974 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Berlin, Germany |align=left| |- |Template:No2Loss |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Jimmy Young |TKO |8 |18 Feb 1974 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Mayfair Sporting Club, London, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Obie English |TKO |10 |14 Jan 1974 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Grosvenor House, London, England |align=left|Template:Small |- |Template:No2Loss |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Bunny Johnson |KO |10 |11 Oct 1973 |align=left|Template:Flagicon King's Hall, Manchester, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Larry Beilfuss |TKO |4 |9 Jul 1973 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Grosvenor House, London, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Billy Aird |PTS |10 |14 May 1973 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Grosvenor House, London, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Johnny Griffin |KO |3 |15 Mar 1973 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Grosvenor House, London, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Rufus Brassell |DQ |3 |13 Feb 1973 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Roy Williams |PTS |8 |15 Jan 1973 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Grosvenor House, London, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Ray Patterson |PTS |8 |20 Nov 1972 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Grosvenor House, London, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Larry Renaud |KO |1 |16 Oct 1972 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Grosvenor House, London, England |align=left|Template:Small |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Roger Tighe |PTS |10 |21 Mar 1972 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Midland Hotel, Bradford, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Ron Oliver |KO |1 |21 Feb 1972 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Mayfair Sporting Club, London, England |align=left| |- |Template:No2Loss |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Rocky Campbell |TKO |1 |9 Dec 1971 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Cliff Field |TKO |4 |24 Nov 1971 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Nottingham Ice Stadium, Nottingham, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Carl Gizzi |PTS |8 |22 Sep 1971 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Solihull Civic Hall, Solihull, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Dennis Forbes |PTS |8 |22 Jun 1971 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Cafe Royal, London, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Bunny Johnson |PTS |8 |13 Apr 1971 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, United Kingdom |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Brian Jewitt |PTS |8 |25 Jan 1971 |align=left|Template:Flagicon National Sporting Club, London, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Dennis Forbes |KO |1 |14 Dec 1970 |align=left|Template:Flagicon National Sporting Club, London, England |align=left| |- |Template:No2Loss |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon George Dulaire |TKO |1 |2 Nov 1970 |align=left|Template:Flagicon County Hotel, Bedford, England |align=left| |- |Template:No2Loss |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Billy Aird |TKO |6 |7 Sep 1970 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Hotel Piccadilly, Manchester, England |align=left|Template:Small |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Obe Hepburn |TKO |5 |21 May 1970 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Anglo-American Sporting Club, London, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Billy Wynter |PTS |6 |4 May 1970 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Bedford, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Obe Hepburn |PTS |6 |31 Mar 1970 |align=left|Template:Flagicon York Hall, London, England |align=left| |- |Template:No2Loss |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Billy Aird |PTS |8 |23 Feb 1970 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Grosvenor House, London, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Lloyd Walford |PTS |6 |25 Nov 1969 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Leeds Town Hall, Leeds, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon George Dulaire |TKO |2 |3 Nov 1969 |align=left|Template:Flagicon County Hotel, Bedford, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon John Cullen |PTS |3 |3 Nov 1969 |align=left|Template:Flagicon County Hotel, Bedford, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Billy Aird |PTS |3 |3 Nov 1969 |align=left|Template:Flagicon County Hotel, Bedford, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Jack Cotes |TKO |3 |13 Oct 1969 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Nottingham Ice Stadium, Nottingham, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Jack Cotes |TKO |2 |8 Sep 1969 |align=left|Template:Flagicon Hotel Piccadilly, Manchester, England |align=left| |- |Template:Yes2Win |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Del Phillips |PTS |3 |7 Jul 1969 |align=left|Template:Flagicon London, England |align=left| |- |Template:No2Loss |Template:Small |align=left|Template:Flagicon Danny McAlinden |KO |1 |7 Jul 1969 |align=left|Template:Flagicon London, England |align=left| Template:S-end

External links

• Template:Boxrec