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John
Duddy rapidly climbing middleweight ladder
QUEENS, N.Y. (April 7, 2005) – Unbeaten Irish middleweight prospect John
Duddy (9-0, 9 KOs) is on the fast track in the 160-pound division,
especially after his electrifying, high-profile first-round knockout of
previously undefeated Lenord Pierre (16-0, 11 KOs), rated No. 19 by the
World Boxing Council, March 18 on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights.
ESPN in-studio analyst for the March 18 show from Foxwoods, “Irish”
Micky Ward, among many others, is sold on Duddy. “He’s the real deal,”
Ward said. “John can do it all – speed, power and a good chin. Now it’s
all up to his management team as far as how fast they move him. He
looked tremendous fighting an undefeated kid (Pierre). If they move him
right, Duddy has a great future because this kid can really fight.”
Duddy’s level of opposition has been very good, sporting an aggregate
winning percentage of 73-percent going into their fights against the
handsome Irishman from Derry, who now resides in Queens, New York. Four
of his opponents were unbeaten when they entered the ring against Duddy
– 16-0 Pierre, 7-0 Victor Paz, 3-0 Glen Dunnings and 1-0 Tarek Rached –
in addition to 10-4-1 Ken Hock.
“It’s nice,” Duddy spoke about the growing adulation he’s been
receiving. “It’s special when you hear somebody like Micky Ward saying
good things about me. The more people see me, the more exciting it’s
becoming, but you’re only as good as your next fight. What all of this
means, at least in my mind, is I made the right decision about my career
and how I’ve gone about it (moving to New York City). The support I’ve
received from everybody on my team and my fans has been tremendous.”
Duddy’s next fight is tentatively set for next month in Boston. His
plans this year also include a show in New York City.
