Looks like Duddy!

John Duddy may get his shot at Kelly Pavlik after all.
The Irish middleweight, who was originally scheduled to fight Pavlik in January, will likely face the Youngstown native when Pavlik makes his first title defense on June 7 in New York City.
Puerto Rican Felix Trinidad had also been mentioned as an opponent, but Trinidad’s father said his son would have a hard time making the 160-pound weight limit. Pavlik’s co-manager, Cameron Dunkin, admitted the chances of a Pavlik-Trinidad fight aren’t good.
“Yeah, they’re thinning,” Dunkin said. “We’re looking more at Duddy than we are at Trinidad.
“But we’re still looking at both. It’s not like it’s over.”
Pavlik’s camp is traveling to New York this weekend to watch Duddy (23-0, 17 KOs) fight Walid Smichet (17-3-3, 13 KOs) on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Top Rank chairman Bob Arum will also be in New York to meet with Pavlik’s camp.
“That’s when we’ll start talking about what to do next,” said Dunkin.
If Trinidad cannot make the weight, Pavlik will not fight over the limit, Dunkin said. He needs to defend his WBC and WBO belts soon or risk losing them.
“He got a pass on this one,” Dunkin said of last Saturday’s Taylor fight. “The WBC and WBO both want him to defend.”
Although a Trinidad bout would bring in more money, particularly since New York’s Puerto Rican Day Parade is that weekend, a Duddy bout would still be attractive. Duddy has a strong fan following in New York and would bring about 6,000 to 7,000 fans, Dunkin said. Plus, Youngstown fans could make the 400-mile trek to NYC easier than Las Vegas, the site of last Saturday’s Taylor rematch.
“Kelly said it doesn’t matter,” said Dunkin. “He’s game with either guy.”
Dunkin has been inundated with requests from boxers wanting to fight Pavlik, which is no surprise considering Pavlik’s increasing popularity in the sport. Roy Jones Jr. recently said he wanted to meet the winner of Pavlik-Taylor II and there’s no shortage of fighters who want a piece of boxing’s next big name.
“Getting opponents is not a problem,” Dunkin said. “A lot of people want to fight him, but it’s about what makes sense. This [Duddy] fight makes sense since it’s in New York. Duddy’s Irish and he’ll sell a lot of tickets.”
The biggest problem Dunkin and Top Rank face is with the lack of big names in the middleweight division. The 35-year-old Trinidad has been dismissed by some observers as over-the-hill — he’s fought once since May of 2005, losing to Jones last month — and many boxing observers feel Duddy would be no match for Pavlik.
Would anyone?
“I don’t see anybody beating him at 160,” said Dunkin. “I’m not overly concerned about anyone. Certain styles will bother you, but I know Kelly will get it done in the end.
“There are some 168 and 175-pounders who could give him some trouble, but by the time he moves up, which will eventually happen, he’ll be ready for that. Kelly’s a big, strong guy.”
Unlike his last two bouts, when he exchanged big blows with Edison Miranda and Taylor, Pavlik came out of Saturday’s bout fairly healthy.
He did injure his right hand during the seventh round, something that forced him to hold back a bit, but it’s not serious, Dunkin said.
“His hand’s fine,” Dunkin said. “It’s a stringer. It’s the same hand injury he’s had his whole career.
“He knows what to do with it — massage, heat, exercise, the same old thing. He’ll be fine in a few days.”
Pavlik also had issues with his nose — he struggles with his sinuses and his nose was bloodied during the bout — but, again, it’s nothing major.
“He really came out of the fight really clean,” said Dunkin. “Jermain fought beautifully — he couldn’t have fought any better. I thought it was the best fight of his career and he still got beat.
“Toward the end, Kelly hurt him pretty bad. Kelly’s a big strong guy and he just wears you down.”
Arum said last weekend that a Duddy fight would likely take place on regular HBO, whereas a Trinidad bout would be on pay-per-view. Regardless, Pavlik seems likely to fight two more times this year. His next bout could be in September in Ohio.
“I think he has such a bright future,” Dunkin said. “I think he can beat anybody out there.”

 

What if.... Duddy gets Ko'ed this weekend?