John Duddy

Duddy Dismisses Trainer, Bout With Pavlik Still Possible

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duddy5743431.jpgBy Aaron Klein: Undefeated middleweight contender John Duddy (24-0, 17 KOs) is apparently still in the running for a potential bout with WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik for later this year, according to the website The Irish Independent. Duddy’s promoter, Bob Arum, had this to say, “There’s still a chance of Duddy meeting Pavlik for the belts later in this year or early in 2009.” Additionally, Duddy, 28, has switched trainers, the articles states, dismissing his American trainer Don Turner and moving to trainer Pat Burns, who also trains Jermain Taylor.

It’s unclear why Duddy has decided to make the move, but one would guess that it could have been due to Duddy’s recent disappointing performance against Walid Smichet, in which Duddy won by a 10-round majority decision but took a major pounding by Smichet. At the end of the fight, Duddy’s face was a red masque of blood, with his left eye cut badly, later requiring 23 stitches to close the deep cuts. But the worse part of all, however, was that Duddy despite winning the fight lost out on a chance to fight Pavlik on June 7th. Instead, Pavlik with be fighting Gary Lockett on June 7th rather than Duddy.

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John Duddy: A Future Champion or Merely Hype?

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duddy574343.jpgBy Robert Cavender: Going into his last fight with the tough Walid Smichet on February 23rd, undefeated Irish middleweight John Duddy (24-0, 17 KOs) had been on the cusp of a superstardom, on the verge of fighting middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik for a June 7th bout at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately for Duddy, he seemed to be looking for ahead of his opponent, appearing to be thinking of his fight with Pavlik, which would be earning Duddy a huge payday, instead of the fighter in front of him. As it happened, Duddy took a tremendous about of punishment from Smichet in the first five rounds of the fight, getting cut in a couple of places on his face which required extensive amounts of stitches to repair.

With the amount of cuts Duddy received, it forced him out of circulation for three months while the cuts have slowly healed. Worse than that, however, is how bad Duddy looked against Smichet. It had been predicted that Duddy would have an easy time beating Smichet, who was pretty much tailor made for Duddy’s style of fighting – or so people though. Instead of using his excellent boxing skills, Duddy opted to get into the trenches with the powerful but limited Smichet, abandoning any thoughts of defense of finesse in hopes of impressing the large New York crowd with a big knockout win.

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Duddy Looks Horrible In Decision Win

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duddy44633.jpgBy Tim Williams: In what was supposed to have been an easy set up fight for a potential shot at WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, undefeated Irish middleweight John Duddy (24-0, 17 KOs) won an ugly 10-round majority decision over Tunisian Walid Smichet (17-4-3, 13 KOs) on Saturday night at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The final judges’ scores were 95-95, 98-92 and 98-92. However, if it weren’t for Smichet tiring out after the 3rd round, Duddy would have very likely have been stopped either on cuts or knocked out.

In the first two rounds, Duddy took tremendous punishment from the hard-hitting Smichet, absorbing huge combinations. Duddy showed almost no ability to avoid punches as Smichet was able to hit him cleanly with almost every punch he threw. By the end of the first round, Duddy’s left eye was already beginning to swell from the many shots he’d been hit. However, a nasty cut was opened up above Duddy’s left eye in the 3rd after he was hit with some especially brutal shots in the round by Smichet.

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John Duddy: Is He A Product Of Hype?

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By Eric Thomas: Recently I’ve been wondering about why and how undefeated Irish middleweight John Duddy (23-0, 17 KOs) could be ranked so highly despite his lack of top level opposition. As of now, Duddy, 28, is ranked #3 in the WBC, #4 in the WBA, #11 in the IBF and #3 in the WBO. Those are extraordinarily good rankings for a fighter that has yet to really prove himself against top level opposition.

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Who’s Next For Pavlik? Duddy, Lee or Trinidad?

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By Dan Ambrose: For WBO/WBC middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (33-0, 29 KOs), he is suddenly the man that every fighter wants to mix it up with, and after all these years of toling away for next to nothing in monetary gain, Pavlik is looking at big money fights with a variety of fighters, most of which don’t come close to being nearly as good as him. The latest trio – Felix Trinidad, John Duddy and Andy Lee – are whom Pavlik is trying to decide on which will be his next opponent, or should I say ‘victim’ for his fight in June. As of now, the unbeaten John Duddy (23-0, 17 KOs) is the most likely of the three to be the one that Pavlik decides to fight, if only because he’s the more popular fighter on the East Coast.

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John Duddy: Is He Ready To Step It Up?

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By Jim Carran: After having fought mostly soft opposition in his first 23 fights, undefeated middleweight John Duddy (23-0, 17 KOs) appears to be one fight away from finally taking on a legitimate top level opponent when he likely will be facing WBO/WBC middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik in June 2008. Though nothing has been confirmed at this time, Duddy, 27, is the leading canditate for the shot at Pavlik’s belt. Before his likely bout with Pavlik, however, Duddy must first get by Walid Smichet (17-3-3, 13 KOs), whom he faces on February 23rd, on the undercard of Wladimir Klitschko vs. Sultan Ibragimov unification bout at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

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Pavlik vs. Trinidad On June 7th?

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By Chris Thomas: According to ESPN writer Dan Rafael, undefeated WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (32-0, 29 KOs) could be facing former welterweight/junior welterweight champion Felix Trinidad (42-3, 35 KOs) on June 7th at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Pavlik’s promoter, Bob Arum, would like for him to fight either Trinidad or John Duddy in Pavlik’s next bout, due to each of them being popular on the East coast. Though Pavlik still has to face Taylor first this Saturday, Pavlik will still be champion by virtue of this being a non-title bout.

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Duddy vs. Pavlik On June 7th

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According to the latest news from the boxing world, undefeated WBC/WBO middleweight Kelly Pavlik (32-0, 29 KOs) will be defending both his middleweight titles against John Duddy (23-0, 17 KOs) on June 7th, in Madison Square Garden. Though Pavlik has a bout before then, a rematch with former WBC/WBO middleweight champion Jermain Taylor on February 16th, whom he defeated by 7th round TKO on September 29th, 2007, this bout will be a non-title fight, since Taylor wanted the fight to take place at a higher weight of 166 lbs.

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Duddy vs. Smichet On February 23rd

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Undefeated Irish middleweight John Duddy (23-0, 17 KOs) will be facing Tunisian-born Walid Smichet (17-3-1, 13 KOs) next month on February 23rd at Madison Square Garden, in New York City, New York. The fight will be on the undercard of International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko’s bout with World Boxing Organization champion Sultan Ibragimov, meaning that the fight will be seen by a huge nationwide audience, as well as all over the world. Duddy, 28, ranked # 2 in the World Boxing Organization and #10 in the World Boxing Association, is hoping to get by the tough Smichet so that he can possibly land a huge money fight with Kelly Pavlik in late 2008 or early 2009.

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Pavlik vs. Duddy In June?

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According to ESPN, undefeated middleweight John Duddy (23-0, 17 KOs) may possibly be going up against World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (32-0, 29 KOs), if Pavlik has his wish granted. Pavlik’s promoter, Bob Arum, said “We’re looking at defending against Duddy in June.” Before then, Pavlik has a rematch scheduled with former WBC/WBO middleweight champion Jermain Taylor in January, but most expect Pavlik to come out on top as he did in the first fight when he stopped Taylor in the 7th round. For his part, Duddy, 28, has a fight scheduled with Matt Vanda in February, but that’s a bout that Duddy will likely win easily.

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