John Duddy: Difference between revisions
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==Retirement== |
==Retirement== |
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Duddy announced his retirement from boxing on January 19th, 2011 after 'a great deal of soul-searching' and stated that his decision is final stating, 'I give you my word; I will not come back'. |
Duddy announced his retirement from boxing on January 19th, 2011 after 'a great deal of soul-searching' and stated that his decision is final stating, 'I give you my word; I will not come back'. This scuppered plans for an all-Irish showdown in New York against fellow countryman Andy Lee. |
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
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Revision as of 13:42, 19 January 2011
- This article is about John Duddy, the Irish boxer. For the Scottish murderer, see Shepherd's Bush murders. For the man shot dead on Bloody Sunday in Derry, see Bloody Sunday (1972).
John Duddy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | John Francis Duddy 19 June 1979[1] |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Other names | "Ireland's John Duddy" "The Derry Destroyer" |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Middleweight |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 31 |
| Wins | 29 |
| Wins by KO | 18 |
| Losses | 2 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
John Francis Duddy (born 19 June 1979, Derry, Northern Ireland)[1] is a retired Irish middleweight professional boxer. Duddy fights under the moniker of Ireland's John Duddy[1] or The Derry Destroyer.[2]
Duddy has lost twice in 31 bouts,[3] with 18 of his wins by knockout, with 10 of those KO's coming in the first round. He is the former IBA World and WBC Continental Americas middleweight title holder.[4]
Amateur career
As an amateur Duddy fought 130 times, winning 100 of his bouts. Duddy won his first Irish national title at the age of 15 as a light middleweight in the Junior Division, later winning Irish titles at the Intermediate and Elite Levels. He also represented Ireland at European level and during Olympic qualifiers.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
Professional career
Debut
Duddy turned professional September 2003, and his first fight as a pro was fight Tarek Rashed in The Bronx. He won via first round knockout. Because of his exciting fighting style, great chin, and charisma, he is being heralded as this era's Arturo Gatti. On 22 November, he stopped Jesse Gomez at the Crowne Plaza hotel. His next bout was also at the Crowne Plaza, where he beat Leo Laudat on 21 December but suffered his first knockdown.[4]
Early professional fights
Duddy began 2004 by stepping up his opponent quality a notch, when he met Ken Hock on 9 January 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 still lost by knockout to the Irish prospect in the fourth round.
Duddy then experienced his career's longest lay-off, waiting over nine months before his next bout. When he returned, he once again won by first round knockout, defeating Victor Paz on 30 October at Middletown, New York. Duddy quickly returned to action after that fight, beating William Johnson on 18 November in Manhattan.[4]
Duddy's final fight of 2004 came on 12 December at Brighton Beach, Brooklyn against the then undefeated Glen Dunnings. Dunnings became only the second boxer to go more than one round against Duddy, when he was knocked out in the fifth round.
Duddy's first fight of 2005 came on 4 February, when he beat Chuck Orso in White Plains.[4]
St. Patrick's Day events
On 18 March, Duddy fought the undefeated prospect Leonard Pierre as part of an Irish themed "day after Saint Patrick's Day card". This undercard was televised in the United States on ESPN, with Duddy and Pierre fighting the semi-main event of the card, which was headlined by heavyweight Kevin McBride, who later defeated Mike Tyson.[11]
Both the live crowd and the television announcers expected an early knockout in this fight, given that Pierre also had six first round knockout wins. Duddy proceeded to drop Pierre twice before experienced referee Frank Cappuccino stopped the fight, giving Duddy his seventh first round knockout, and his ninth consecutive knockout victory. The famous former boxer Micky Ward, who is Irish-American and who provided commentary from the ESPN studio for that fight, expressed pleasure with Duddy's performance that night.
On 11 June 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 Duddy, who extended his win streak to ten, while his knockout streak ended at nine.[4]
In his next eight fights, he knocked out six of his opponents, including first round knock outs of both Joseph Brady (17 September 2005) and Shelby Pudwill (16 March 2006). On the undercard of the 10 June 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 former 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, fighting Cuevas for 7 rounds before Cuevas retired on his stool with a broken nose and several deep cuts.
Duddy's next fight came against Yori Boy Campas, again at Madison Square Garden. Against an opponent with ten times more professional experience, Duddy went the distance, winning in a unanimous decision after 12 rounds.
On 16 March 2007, he beat Anthony Bonsante at Madison Square Garden. Duddy won with a unanimous 90-81, 89-82 and 88-83 decision when the fight was stopped after the ninth round by referee Steve Smoger, due to heavy bleeding from Bonsante's forehead caused by an earlier accidental headbutt.
Return to Ireland
On 14 July 2007 Duddy fought the first of his two scheduled fights in what has been billed as his "Homecoming" to Ireland. In his first at the National Stadium in Dublin, his opponent was Alessio Furlan. Duddy was ruled the winner by TKO with only 10 seconds to go in the 10th and final round. John then went on to defeat Prince Arron in 2 rounds on October 20 in the National Stadium, Dublin. Duddy fought Howard Eastman at the King's Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 8 December. The fight was expected to be his toughest to date. In front of 5,500 supporters, Duddy recorded a ten round 96-94 points victory. The fight was close and exciting with the crowd encouraging Duddy's promotional team to consider a return to the Belfast venue in the near future.[12][13][14]
Loss to Lyell
On April 24, 2009, Duddy was beaten via ten-round split decision by Billy Lyell, a fighter with seven losses in his twenty-five fights.[15]
Rebuilding
On October 10, 2009, Duddy made a successful return to the ring against Michi Munoz. Duddy won a unanimous decision.[16]
On January 23, 2010, Duddy fought Juan Astorga in Madison Square Garden. He went on to win by way of technical knockout in the first round, giving him his 18th KO.[17]
Duddy defeated Michael Medina of Monterrey, Mexico via Split Decision on March 13, 2010, on the undercard of the Pacquaio/Clottey WBO Welterweight Championship.[18]
In his final fight he was unanimously outpointed by Julio César Chávez, Jr. in a fight in San Antonio on 26 June 2010.[3]
Retirement
Duddy announced his retirement from boxing on January 19th, 2011 after 'a great deal of soul-searching' and stated that his decision is final stating, 'I give you my word; I will not come back'. This scuppered plans for an all-Irish showdown in New York against fellow countryman Andy Lee.
Personal life
John has a wife named Grainne.[19] His Uncle Jackie Duddy, was one of the 14 people killed by British Army Paratroopers, during Bloody Sunday.[20] Duddy has often been described as having a heart of a lion. George Mitchell once said, “A tiger is ferocious, but if he gets into a fight and knows he’s going to lose he gives up. But a lion never gives up. John showed that he has the heart of a lion. That is going to take him a long way, no matter who he is in against.”
Ratings
| Organization | Rank |
|---|---|
| WBO | 14 [21] |
| WBA | Unranked |
| WBC | 18 [22] |
| IBO | 32 * [23] |
| IBF | 4 [24] |
| IBA | 10 [25] |
| NABO | Unranked |
| Boxrec | 29 * [1] |
*Indicates computerized ranking
Notes and references
- ^ a b c d "BoxRec: John Duddy". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
- ^ Derry destroyer Duddy maintains unbeaten record with points win 29th June 2008. www.dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-06-29
- ^ a b Duddy goes down fighting 27 June 2010. www.setanta.com Retrieved 2010-06-29
- ^ a b c d e Boxrec. ""John Duddy"". Boxrec Fighter Page. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ^ Shane Murray. "Ireland take Gold". RTÉ News. Retrieved 20 April 2002.
- ^ Jerry Glick. "Talks to John Duddy". Seconds Out. Retrieved August 2005.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Benny Henderson Jr. "Prospect Watch: The Fighting Irishman John Duddy". Doghouse Boxing. Retrieved 10 January 2005.
- ^ Marilyn Cole Lownes. "The Boxer". Irish Abroad. Retrieved 1 March 2005. [dead link]
- ^ Steve Farhood. "Phenomenon". Boxing Monthly. Retrieved May 2006.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Matthew Hurley. "Ireland's Warrior - John Duddy". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 1 February 2006.
- ^ a b Brian Doogan (12 March 2006). "Who is John Duddy?". The Times on Line. London. Retrieved 12 March 2006. Cite error: The named reference "Who is John Duddy?" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Duddy to take on veteran Eastman, BBC News
- ^ Duddy the only show in town, Belfast Telegraph
- ^ Duddy to face Eastman in Belfast, RTE
- ^ Slater, James (2009-04-25). "Billy Lyell Upsets John Duddy - What Now For The Irishman?". www.eastsideboxing.com. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
- ^ "Irish Middleweight John Duddy Beats Michi Munoz". Bock The Robber. Oct 11th, 2009. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "John Duddy knocks out Juan Astorga in first round win". BBC Sport. 24 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
- ^ "Derry's John Duddy edges split decision in Texas bout". BBC Sport. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
- ^ Weir, Clare (29 August 2009). "Boxing ace Duddy marries long-term sweetheart". www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
- ^ "Interview : Irish middleweight boxer John Duddy". An Phoblacht. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
- ^ WBO Rankings
- ^ WBC Ratings
- ^ IBO Rankings
- ^ IBF Ratings
- ^ IBA Ratings (Nov 2007)
External links
- Boxing record for John Duddy from BoxRec (registration required)
- FightBeat.com Interview with Duddy
- Brickcityboxing Interview with Duddy