The Resurrection of John Duddy By Dan Fitz-Simons - Youd never guess from the lack of media coverage that John Duddy was back as a middleweight contender. Indeed, Duddys almost nonchalant defeat of Michi Munoz at the Garden last week hardly raised an eyebrow among boxing aficionados. That could be a mistake. The once over-hyped Derry Destroyer won every round without being seriously threatened. More importantly, his piston-like left jab, one of the best in the middleweight division, was still evident, as was Duddys superb conditioning and stamina.. However, it took the first three rounds for John to shake off the ring rust he had accumulated since his only career loss to Billy Lyell six months ago. Duddy suffered a bloody nose from Munoz in the first round, but aside from that minor injury, he appeared unscathed. By the middle rounds the old spark had returned, and Duddy again became an offensive-minded slugger with a snap in his punches. Duddys victory over Munoz has pushed his record up to an impressive 27-1(17 KOs). At the age of 30, he is in his prime and believes he still has plenty of gas in the tank. However, the question remains as to whether or not he can he still go the distance as he did with Campas, Smichet, Eastman, and Vanda. Nevertheless, Duddy has gotten over the split-decision loss to Lyell, explaining that he was distracted and depressed by his legal battle with Irish Ropes, his upcoming wedding, and too many different training sites under the tutelage of Don Turner and Pat Burns. Duddy has always been smitten by the Big Apple, and New Yorkers in turn have remained loyal to him. Indeed, its hard not to like the smiling Irishman with the easy-going personality, who is constantly upbeat, fights clean, and seldom utters a disrespectful word against opponents. Duddys fans are happy to see Harry Keit back in his corner. They want their old brawler back, even if it means a risky defense and facial cuts. No more fancy dancing, just a loud smack to the opponents head. Many believe that Burns tried to turn an aggressive slugger into a defensive boxer. The result was a loss to Lyell with Duddy fighting as though he was in a straight jacket. But with Keit back in Johns corner, his fans are expecting slugfests with someone going down. One New Yorker who is excited about having Duddy back at the Garden is Top Rank promoter, Bob Arum. The Derry man has crowd appeal which translates into large purses. Duddy is a sharp puncher, who fights frequently and always shows up in top condition; the fight crowd instinctively senses action. Theres also Irish determination combined with an iron jaw. It would take an anvil to keep Duddy down on the canvass. Ironically, Duddys future seems to have brightened after his one loss. Theres talk of an event in Cancun in December with Duddy and Chavez Jr. on the same card. If John and Julio both win, they fight one another in the Garden on St. Patricks Day; the winner getting a shot at the title. Neither Duddy nor Chavez Jr. is at Pavliks level, but theyre both crowd pleasers, and a brawl between them would draw a huge gate. Young Julio gets down-right mean when cornered, and the contest could easily escalate into a war. If the Chavez Jr. prospect falls through theres also Neil (Sinky) Sinclair. Duddy was supposed to fight the Irish light-middleweight champion last summer, and Frank Warren might still be tempted to match-up the two Ulstermen. Irish fans paying big Euros would flock into Belfast by the bus load. Whatever happens, Duddy is back with a lucrative future and a contract that tells him how much he earns, and thats good for the sport of boxing. Welcome back John.
Finallly, my ban has been lifted. Paddy, who did you hear was being lined up to fight Lee? I'm not impressed by the guy he is going to fight, I had hoped it would be a big name and not a guy with 4 kos.
take a look at this for a cardSaturday 24 October 2009 National Stadium, Dublin, Irelandcommission: Boxing Union of Irelandpromoter: Phil Sutcliffe : Dolphil Promotions tickets: +353 1 4533371 / 087 2603928 / 087 9719193divisionboxerW-L-DopponentW-L-D This content is protected super featherweightEddie Hyland This content is protected - This content is protected - This content is protected SCMark Alexander This content is protected - This content is protected - This content is protected 8 bout subject to commission approval / change This content is protected middleweightRobert Long This content is protected - This content is protected - This content is protected SCAnthony Fitzgerald This content is protected - This content is protected - This content is protected 8 bout subject to commission approval / change This content is protected light heavyweightJohn Waldron This content is protected - This content is protected - This content is protected SCJamie Norkett This content is protected - This content is protected - This content is protected 8 bout subject to commission approval / change bantamweightAlexei Acosta This content is protected - This content is protected - This content is protected SC[COLOR=#00e0]TBA[/COLOR]8 bout subject to commission approval / change This content is protected super featherweightOisin ***an This content is protected - This content is protected - This content is protected SCJohnny Greaves This content is protected - This content is protected - This content is protected 6 bout subject to commission approval / change This content is protected featherweightWillie Casey This content is protected - This content is protected - This content is protected SCStoyan Serbezov This content is protected - This content is protected - This content is protected 6 bout subject to commission approval / change light welterweightGavin Prunty This content is protected - This content is protected - This content is protected SCAsen Bonev This content is protected - This content is protected - This content is protected 4 bout subject to commission approval / change
big rogie is in great shape http://www.irishnews.com/articles/597/556/2009/10/13/629928_396809284185Rogieset.html