Bradford boxing legend Richard Dunn pulled no punches today - in branding his sport a joke.

The former British and European heavyweight called Mike Tyson a "fool and a clown" and declared the sport to be "in a terrible state".

Dunn, 57 tomorrow, once fought Muhammad Ali for the undisputed heavyweight crown but believes the large number of different titles in the sport now is spoiling it.

He is so disillusioned with the fight game he refuses to watch today's boxers, preferring to concentrate on darts - his Scarborough pub team has topped its league for five years.

"Things have changed considerably over the years," said the fighter, who won the praise of a nation after going down in the fifth round in a brave performance against Ali in Munich in 1976.

"There are so many different titles now it is ridiculous. It was once the sport of kings, but I don't think you can say it is now.

"It is a shame but it has gone downhill and I can't see a way back."

Dunn also hit out at promoters who now hold such sway in the sport.

"It doesn't seem to be about boxing any more," he said. "If people are making money, then that is all that seems to matter.

"In my day we didn't have the joke of a situation that exists now. It is just a big circus, and the sport of boxing is the loser."

And boxers themselves were not spared criticism in Dunn's tirade against the sport. "Mike Tyson is a fool and a clown, he could have been a great fighter, but he threw it all away," declared Dunn, who was brought up in Bramley before moving to Bradford.

"I don't rate Audley Harrison at all. He is not going to get anywhere fighting mugs. He might be doing okay for money, but what about fighting your way to the top.

"I have very fond memories of my fight with Ali. I earned the right to fight him, so why shouldn't I. Now you can get to try for one of the world championships after just five or six fights. That can't be right.

"There should be one title in each weight division and that is all."

He thinks the new structure of the sport is lowering standards.

"I would love to be a fighter now," he said. "I could make easy money and probably get a shot at some title or other almost straight away.

"But as long as the sky is blue there will never be another fighter like Ali."

Dunn turned to boxing as a 19-year-old paratrooper and was also a hot prospect in rugby league where he played as a robust loose forward.