Remembering Richard Dunn and His Ring Appearance with The Greatest Muhammad Ali

By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

It was Andy Warhol who claimed that we would all have our 15 minutes of fame. Even he would not have meant it as literally as it was to come true for Robert Dunn. Briefly in 1976, Dunn was, for all of 15 minutes, in a ring in Munich with Muhammad Ali.

Even the most delusional in the UK thought that Dunn was going to win but it was an opportunity to have Ali back in Europe, little did we know it would be the final time in a ring, and of course, there was always a chance that Dunn may have actually done it.

Now 72 years of age, Dunn refers to it as “the greatest thrill of my sporting life.”

Many of us were wondering just how he got to be there in the first place.

The fact was that he was never meant to be there.

The promoters had a plan. First a tune up fight for their guy and then into the ring with Ali for the World Championship. Problem was – Dunn wasn’t their guy.

Dunn had fought the German champion, Bernd August, some 24 days earlier and beat him.

The promoters did not have that in their script. The winner of that fight was to share the ring with Ali deep in West Germany. It would mean a big American presence, would be countered by the Germans willing their guy on. Their guy was now out the picture after Dunn’s win and now

The German fans had no reason to turn up. Even Eddie Hearn and Don King combined would struggle to rescue that.

Those that bothered to turn up saw Ali drop Dunn four times before the final time in the 5th meant that Dunn was over and out and the fight was stopped.

By the time that southpaw, Dunn got into that Munich ring he had been a professional boxer for 7 years. His debut in 1969 was as part of a competition like Prizefighter where he had a quarter final which he won and then lost the semi final to Danny McAlinden. Many years later he was to avenge that defeat but for now he came away from Cardiff with an unimpressive 1-1 record.

His record was not to ignite or excite many until 1975 when he won the British and Commonwealth titles against Bunny Johnson – avenging a previous loss – and then went into the ring against August to add the European title. From this win for the two titles to the match with Ali was less than a year so we were all trying to get our heads round where this former paratrooper from Bradford had come from.

Dunn was to play a full part in the entire experience, even borrowing some of the poetic licence that Ali enjoyed when he wrote:

“Muhammad Ali, I think yer a square,
I’m gonna retire you to a rocking chair.
At 34, you ain’t so young,
yer gonna get whupped, by Richard Dunn.”

It was Ali’s 8th defense of a world title in a row and when he fought Dunn he was only 2 years away from the point where Leon Spinks was to take his titles from him. Being stopped in the 5th round meant he got his 15 minutes of fame – though he had been floored 4 times before, in each of the preceding 4 rounds! Ali was never to knock anyone out again in the ring.

It was also Ali’s last ring appearance in Europe as he fought in the States from then on, until the last fight in the Bahamas.

Dunn fought a further twice – against Joe Bugner to whom he lost all of his titles and then against Kallie Knoetze in Apartheid South Africa which he also lost. It added to an overall professional fighting record of 45 fights with 12 losses and 33 wins – 16 of which came by knockout.
Once retired he lost most of his boxing earnings thanks to a failed hotel business before going back into the scaffolding and construction business that had sustained him before that night in Munich.

Though hard times often follow those boxers who give up the spotlights, Dunn is far from bitter. The bizarre fact that a loss is what he is most fondly remembered for is quite apposite when you consider that Wladimir Klitschko has become far more positively considered thanks to his efforts in losing to Anthony Joshua.

 

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