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Revision as of 13:07, 7 August 2006 by Vintagekits (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)- This article is about John Duddy, the Irish boxer. For the Scottish murderer, see Massacre of Braybrook Street.
| John Duddy | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Francis Duddy June 19, 1979 Derry, N. Ireland |
| Nationality |  Irish |
| Other names | Ireland's John Duddy |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Middleweight |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 17 |
| Wins | 17 |
| Wins by KO | 15 |
| Losses | 0 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
John Francis Duddy (born June 19, 1979 in Derry, Northern Ireland) is a Middleweight boxing prospect. He is nicknamed "Ireland's John Duddy".
John Duddy has won all seventeen of his professional bouts, fifthteen by knockout, and nine of them in the first round. He has been featured on undercard bouts on ESPN and Top Rank Pay-Per-View, among other television channels.
Before becoming a professional boxer, Duddy left his native Northern Ireland to settle in New York City, as it is more lucrative for boxers to fight often in the United States than in Europe, and, by moving to New York, Duddy knew his Irish image would be more marketable due to the large Irish community there.
Duddy had his first professional fight on September 19, 2003, against Tarek Rashed, in The Bronx. He won by a first round knockout.
On November 22, he stopped Jesse Gomez at the Crowne Plaza hotel. His next bout was also at the Crowne Plaza, as he beat Leo Laudat on December 21.
Duddy began 2004 by stepping up his opponent quality a notch, when he met Ken Hock on January 9 at Uncasville, Connecticut. Hock had ten victories against four losses and one draw (tie) coming into his bout with Duddy. Hock became the first boxer to go more than one round against Duddy, but he still ended up losing by knockout to the Irish prospect, when Duddy beat him in the fourth round.
Duddy then experienced his career's longest lay-off, when he had to wait nine months and a half before his next bout. When he returned, he once again won by first round knockout, defeating Victor Paz on October 30 at Middletown, New York.
It would not be too long before Duddy returned to action after the fight with Paz, however, as he beat William Johnson on November 18 at Manhattan.
Duddy's last fight in 2004 came on December 12, against the until then undefeated Glen Dunnings, who managed to become the second boxer to go more than one round against Duddy during their fight, held at Brighton Beach, but who ended up being knocked out by Duddy in five rounds.
Duddy's first fight of 2005 came on February 4, when he beat Chuck Orso in White Plains.
On March 18, Duddy boxed Leonard Pierre as part of an undercard that had most fights featuring at least one Irish fighter as the card had a Saint Patrick's Day theme. This undercard was televised in the United States by ESPN, and Duddy and Pierre fought the semi main event of the card, headlined by Heavyweight Kevin McBride, who would later defeat Mike Tyson. Pierre came into this fight undefeated after sixteen bouts.
Both the live crowd and the television announcers expected an early knockout in this fight, given the fact that Pierre also had six first round knockout wins. Duddy proceeded to drop Pierre twice before experienced referee Frank Capuccino stopped the fight, giving Duddy his seventh first round knockout, and his ninth consecutive knockout victory. The famous former boxer Micky Ward, who is also Irish and who provided commentary from the ESPN studio for that fight, expressed pleasure with Duddy's performance that night.
On June 11, 2005 Duddy boxed against Patrick Thompson in Madison Square Garden. Thompson became the third boxer to last the first round, and both fighters boxed to a judge's decision. The score on all three cards was 80-72 in favor of John Duddy, who extended his win streak to ten, while his knockout streak ended at nine.
Since then Duddy has fought seven times, knocking out six of those opponents, including first round knock outs of both Joseph Brady (Sept. 17, 2005) and Shelby Pudwill (March 16, 2006). On the undercard of the June 10, 2006 Miguel Cotto-Paul Malignaggi Top Rank Pay-Per-View fight Duddy took on the experienced fighter Alfredo Cuevas, who in 2004 went the 12 round distance with current middleweight champion Jermain Taylor. It was Duddy's eighth fight in less than a year and his third at Madison Square Garden, but he showed no signs of fatigue, punishing Cuevas for 7 rounds before Cuevas retired on his stool with a broken nose and several deep cuts. Former world heavyweight champion, well known personality, and respected boxing analyst George Foreman provided commentary for the fight, remarking after the fight that Duddy's sharp left jab, "could take him to the top, with a jab like that a world middleweight championship might be on the horizon".
Duddy has proven to be a crowd favorite and quite a ticket selling attraction. Duddy's management, Irish Ropes, turned down a lucrative $75,000 contract to fight Cuevas for $10,000 and a 50% share of tickets Duddy sold himself. Duddy's devoted fan base, made up of both the large Irish immigrant community in New York and fans of his aggressive in your face style, turned out in force for the Cuevas fight, greeting Duddy with Irish flags and large cheers. Due to his great ability to sell tickets Duddy's reported purse for the fight was more than $135,000.
Duddy has displayed interest in taking on Dubliner and current Irish middleweight champ "The Pink Panther" Jim Rock. Duddy's management attended Rock's June 3, 2006 fight against Kevin Phelan in Dublin, a seventh round TKO victory for Rock. The fight was initially scheduled for September 29 at Madison Square Garden, but has since been postponed, possibly for a November bout in Dublin, Ireland.
Duddy is the current holder of the WBC Continental Americas Middleweight Title (won against Pudwill), and is ranked at number 13 amongst WBA middleweights. Furthermore, boxrec.com ranks Duddy at number 4 out of all middleweights.
Also of note is Duddy's commitment to the Irish community in New York City as he has become involved with the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR). Duddy has attended many of the group's meetings and met with Arizona Senator and Presidential hopeful John McCain at a group rally. Senator McCain, a former Navy boxer himself, took great interest in Duddy and wished him well in his future bouts. Duddy entered the ring in his March 16, 2006 fight wearing an ILIR t-shirt, to the crowd's great pleasure, as a raucous cheer arose throughout Madison Square Garden when Duddy stripped his robes to reveal the t-shirt.
External links
- Duddy's boxrec page
- FightBeat.com Interview with Duddy
- John's Irish Ropes Profile