By Daniel Ciminera: Andy Lee was left high and dry without an opponent with John Duddy taking the decision to retire ahead of their scheduled 12th March clash, citing a lack of desire to make the sort of sacrifices required to be the fighter he needs to be as the reason for his retirement. Which as an aside, is quite a refreshing thing to hear in boxing, it would be nice to hear more guys admit this way sooner rather than fight on and do themselves harm.
John Duddy
Manfredo Jr. or McEwan could replace Duddy for bout against Andy Lee on 3/12
By Jim Dower: With John Duddy’s sudden retirement announcement made earlier today, middleweight contender Andy Lee now needs a replacement opponent for his March 12th bout on the undercard of the Sergio Martinez vs. Sergiy Dzinziruk card in Connecticut. According to boxing news from Dan Rafael of ESPN, Lou Dibella, Lee’s promoter, is looking Peter Manfredo Jr. 37-6, 20 KO’s) or unbeaten Craig McEwan (19-0, 10 KO’s) to replace Duddy. Dibella has to speak to HBO about this, though, and see what they say.
John Duddy retires from boxing, fight with Andy Lee off
By Jim Dower: It’s official, middleweight contender John Duddy has retired from boxing and his scheduled March 12th fight with Andy Lee is now off, according to news from Rte Sport. Duddy reportedly turned down $100,00 to fight the southpaw Lee. About his retirement, Duddy said “A great deal of soul searching..I give you my world, I will not come back.” Duddy was recently beaten by Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. last year by a lopsided 12 round decision in June. Duddy looked discouraged at times in the fight and took a great deal of punishment.
Lee-Duddy: Two fringe middleweights battle it out on March 12th
By Sean McDaniel: HBO will be showing a middleweight battle between two decent but flawed Irish middleweights Andy Lee (24-1, 18 KO’s) and John Duddy (29-2, 18 KO’s) March 12th at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, in Mashantucket, Connecticut. This will be part of the undercard for the main event between WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez and Sergeii Dzinziruk. By showing Lee and Duddy going at it, there is hope that the winner of this fight will then be the next opponent for the Martinez-Dzinziruk winner.
Steward says the Duddy vs. Lee winner will face Sergio Martinez next
By Michael Lieberman: Trainer Emanuel Steward says that the winner of the March 12th bout between his fighter middleweight contender Andy Lee (24-1, 18 KO’s) and fringe middleweight contender John Duddy (29-2, 18 KO’s) will be facing World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion Sergio Martinez next, according to the latest news. Lee, 26, was supposed have been selected to fight Martinez this time around, but HBO didn’t like the idea of a fight between Lee and Martinez.
Andy Lee vs. John Duddy for 3/12: Will the winner end up facing Sergio Martinez?
By Dan Ambrose: Middleweight contender Andy Lee (24-1, 18 KO’s) and fringe junior middleweight contender John Duddy (29-2, 18 KO’s) are a possibility for the undercard of the March 12th bout between WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez and Sergeii Dzinziruk. What’s interesting about the Lee-Duddy fight is that the winner could end up facing Martinez at some point in the near future.
Duddy vs. Lee possible for Martinez-Dzinziruk undercard on 3/12
By Dan Ambrose: A potential fight between fringe junior middleweight contender John Duddy (29-2, 18 KO’s) and middleweight contender Andy Lee (24-1, 18 KO’s) could be taking place on the undercard of the March 12th HBO clash between WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (46-2-2, 25 KO’s) and WBO junior middleweight champion Sergeii Dzinziruk (37-0, 23 KO’s) in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Andy Lee vs. John Duddy would be huge in New York, says Steward
By Jason Kim: Trainer Emanuel Steward thinks an all Irish contest between middleweights John Duddy (29-2, 18 KO’s) and Andy Lee (24-1, 18 KO’s) would be huge in New York where he thinks it could draw as many as 10,000 boxing fans at Madison Square Garden, according to Michael Marley at Examiner.com.
Andy Lee vs. John Duddy on December 4th
By Jason Kim: A fight between Irish fringe middleweight contenders John Duddy and Andy Lee could be taking place on December 4th, according to boxing news from the Belfasttelgraph.co.uk. Both Duddy and Lee’s management are interested in this bout and it’s a fight that kind of makes sense, since neither Duddy or Lee are likely going to be getting a shot at a title against any of the middleweight champions. Indeed, Duddy, 31, was recently dominated by Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision loss in June.
Duddy plans on continuing to fight in the U.S rather than Ireland
By Jim Dower: Fringe middleweight contender John Duddy (29-2, 18 KO’s) isn’t interested in taking his show over to the Europe or Ireland after suffering a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision loss to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) on June 26th at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas.