Best known, by far and away, for his losing challenge of the incomparable Muhammad Ali, British heavyweight Richard Dunn was a brave and gutsy fighter who was good enough to win the big three: the British, Commonwealth, and European titles. Today, as has been reported by a BBC Sport, the 76-year-old former scaffolder who was stopped by “The Greatest” in Germany in 1976, is in need of help.
Sadly suffering from Alzheimer’s, Dunn’s short-term memory is, his son-in-law Gregg Scott informs BBC, “shot to pieces.” However, as is the case with many battlers of the simply horrific disease, Dunn’s long-term memory is good. His recollection of things “45 years ago is as good as any,” Scott says. To this end, Dunn’s family have launched an appeal – can anyone out there send them a copy of the fight when Dunn stopped Germany’s Bernd August to win the European heavyweight crown? This was possibly the biggest win of Dunn’s entire career, and those close to Richard feel him seeing the fight once again would do untold wonders for his happiness.
Reportedly, the fight, which went out live on BBC back in April of 1976, is not to be found in the BBC archives. So, have YOU got a copy of this fight, perhaps on an old VHS cassette tape? If so, you could do an old fighter who is now in poor mental health an absolute power of good.
“For him to see it again, relive it, would be magnificent,” Scott said. “Anybody, anywhere, who has a copy [please come forward.]”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa2BjqIR7Ec
There are some hardcore boxing fans who have an extensive library and just maybe a fan, most likely a British boxing fan, has this fight at home somewhere. If you have it, you could do something quite special. Richard Dunn deserves it.
Dunn, who finished with a hard-earned 33-12(16) record, stopped August in the third-round at The Royal Albert Hall in London……seven weeks later Dunn was fighting Ali for the world title in Munich, Germany.