Everything was prepared for a triumphant Frankfurt evening, but it turned out to be an Irish night.

Leon Bunn was supposed to and wanted to be the IBO light heavyweight champion of the world on Saturday.

It was done.

With home advantage for a Frankfurter, at home in Fechenheim, still undefeated in his almost five years as a professional boxer, in which victory followed victory.

But one tough question remained unanswered: Is it enough for higher regions?

It's not enough, as Bunn found out the hard way in the factory gym.

Irishman Padraig McCrory became a party killer in six rounds, celebrated by compatriots who already had the mood before the ring bell rang for the main fight.

This was followed by the dismantling of the 30-year-old, who was counted in the second and third round.

After the third knockdown, Bunn's coach Conny Mittermeier threw in the towel as a sign of the task.

boxed out

Not according to all the rules of boxing, but slowed down by the 34-year-old man from Belfast.

He got a bloody nose and breathed more heavily from round to round, but the hope in the Frankfurt camp that the opponent's condition would break down was not fulfilled.

"The Hammer" had a reputation for having "fire in their fists".

Overwhelmed by the intensity

Bunn burned up on them.

In this duel, his distance and his cover only worked for one round.

After the third round, it became clear that the World Cup mission would end in a dead end.

Then Bunn, clearly disoriented, headed for the neutral corner instead of his blue corner and his supervisors.

An alarming signal that the evening would not end well.

Why?

One was overwhelmed, surprised by the intensity of the duel, also by the daring of the Irishman, who dropped his fists with an overdose of self-confidence as if nothing could frighten him.

He was provocateur and aggressor at the same time – his opponent never got beyond the role of insufficiently defending himself.

McCrory's hits were so hard that they "went through cover," Mittermeier said afterwards.

An opponent acted with longer arms, but above all with a mentality that obviously cannot be trained.

Various coaches have failed to mold solid prizefighter Bunn into a worthy champion over the years.

Mittermaier has only had Bunn under his wing for a few months and has had to acknowledge existential deficits in this trade: "He has to get tougher, we're in professional boxing here, he's missing the final blow, I would have wished him that, he's like that nice guy."

Will the cooperation continue?

Mittermeier shrugs his shoulders.

Bunn is now 30 years old and due for a sabbatical after a thorough examination at the hospital.

It applies to the head.

In addition to the cut below the eye, there are injuries that go deep into the soul: "There is a lot of sadness, let's see what the heart is doing," says the father.

"The heart of a boxer", which Max Schmeling once sang about.

Ralph Bunn "cried" as he replaced his son in the Q&A session.

"It's a shame to see Leon like this"

The junior received medical attention in the dressing room.

There had been pats and comforting words up in the ring.

Something like first aid after the realization of the end of all title dreams at a level that boxing can live with.

Looking back, Bunn lived for boxing first and foremost.

There was more deprivation than fulfillment.

"It's a shame to see Leon like this," said Abas Baraou, a much more successful German boxer in the Wasserman empire, organizer of the World Cup, between criticism and collegiality for his stable colleague.

Critical remarks on the conduct of the fight combined with the perseverance slogan for a buddy who needs it: "He'll be back."

There isn't even a hint of certainty about that.

"If such an opportunity comes, you have to use it," said a dejected promoter, Kalle Sauerland.

Bunn failed the ultimate endurance test.

Its conqueror meanwhile proclaimed that "this title is the beginning, not the end, of my ambitions".

At the age of 34 he wants to get started, while Bunn cannot avoid the question of meaning.

Just like the 26-year-old "Frankfurter Mädsche" Bilgenur Aras, who seemed inhibited.

Perhaps it is not so easy to box against a woman like Oksana Romanova.

In January she celebrated her 50th birthday where there is nothing left to celebrate: in Kyiv.

Going through six rounds without a knock-down and draping the Ukrainian flag around her shoulders, she received more applause and recognition than losers usually get.

The tough guys from the Hells Angels were still standing outside in front of the hall having a beer on October night.

In anticipation of a hero from Frankfurt.

An hour later, the Irish polonaise moved like a lindworm around the ring with her "Paddy" at the center of bliss.

What Leon Bunn would have given for a role reversal, but he would have had to be someone else for that.

Just not the nice Bunn next door.