Richard Dunn (boxer)

Richard Dunn (boxer)

Richard Dunn (19 January 1945) was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England and was a heavyweight boxer who fought Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight title in 1976.

Dunn was defeated by many top boxers of the time, losing to Muhammad Ali, Joe Bugner, Jimmy Young, Kallie Knoetze and José Manuel Urtain. However, he did defeat some professional fighters such as Bernd August, Terry Krueger, Carl Gizzi, Ray Patterson, Roy Williams, Johnny Griffin, Billy Aird, Neville Meade, Bunny Johnson, Obie English and Danny McAlinden.

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, 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 just two months later. However, this time it was Dunn that won with a knockout after McAlinden went down three times in the second round. After winning the European Heavyweight title with a third round TKO OF Bernd August in April 1976, he was given the chance of fighting for the WBC and WBA titles against Ali in Munich.

Dunn is also notable as the only Yorkshireman ever to fight Ali, who knocked him out 2:05 minutes into the fifth round; this was to be the last knockout Ali ever achieved in his professional career. Although he was seriously overmatched, many British fans have said that Dunn made one of the most courageous showings of any British fighter when he faced Ali. Dunn was knocked down five times in five rounds. After the fight, Muhammad Ali promised the gloves he had used in the fight to British promoter Mickey Duff, who was raising funds for Chris Finnegan, a terrific fighter who had lost sight in one eye. When he passed his gloves to Duff in the ring, Ali told Duff to look inside. In one it was written ‘Ali wins’ and in the other ‘round five’. He lost his next fight to Joe Bugner, surrendering all his titles in a stunning first round knockout and retired after his next fight, a fifth round defeat to big hitting Kallie Knoetze in the Ellis Park Tennis Stadium in Johannesburg.

A sports centre is named after Dunn in his home town of Bradford in honour of his achievements. Richard Dunn is now retired and living in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. On TV in around 2005 he explained serious injuries he received from an unfortunate ladder fall whilst working.