Rugby
Cooper's ring rival sees flaws
2013-02-06 09:03
Sydney - Quade Cooper's opponent Barry Dunnett has told the rugby star he's
ready to exploit flaws he might not have been warned about in their
boxing clash on Friday night.
According to the
stuff.co.nz website, speaking at Wednesday's pre-fight media conference, Dunnett said
he'd detected plenty of faults in the Wallaby flyhalf's technique
which he plans to use in the main undercard bout for Sonny Bill
Williams' heavyweight clash with South African veteran Francois Botha at
Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
Dunnett, who has won one of his two professional contests, has not
fought in a boxing ring in more than two years but has competed in Muay
Thai since then.
He believes Cooper's lack of combat experience will prove his undoing.
"It's lonely in there. You can't hear your corner," Dunnett said.
"I think he's going to try and move and keep me at range. I'm going to try to shut that down as soon as possible."
Dunnett, who previously worked with Cooper's trainer Shannon
'Shaggy' King, said his motivation for the bout was far greater than
Cooper's and he had found many of the public on his side.
"He's fighting for the next chapter of his biography. I'm fighting for everything," Dunnett said.
"He's got a few followers but he's got a lot of haters as well. I've got a lot of people behind me.
"I don't know how he finds the time to train with the limelight."
Dunnett will look to take advantage of a tendency Cooper has shown
in sparring and pad sessions to hold his head high, which he believes is
one of many things his trainer has not corrected.
"There's a lot of faults there," Dunnett said. "I know Shaggy well.
One of the things he does is tell you how great you're going but not
tell you the things you're doing wrong."
Reds flyhalf Cooper refused to be drawn into a war of
words, pointing out he was far more used to the spotlight than his
opponent.
"I'm not going to get into a schoolyard back and forth," Cooper said.
"It's probably the first time he's had a lot of people interested in what he's doing."