- This article is about John Duddy, the Irish boxer. For the Scottish murderer, see Massacre of Braybrook Street. For the man shot dead on Bloody Sunday in Derry, see Bloody Sunday (1972).
John Duddy | |
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Born | John Francis Duddy 19 June 1979 |
Nationality | ![]() |
Other names | "Ireland's John Duddy" "The Derry Destroyer" |
Statistics | |
Weight(s) | Middleweight |
Stance | Orthodox |
Boxing record | |
Total fights | 26 |
Wins | 26 |
Wins by KO | 17 |
Losses | 1 |
Draws | 0 |
No contests | 0 |
John Francis Duddy (born 19 June 1979, Derry, Northern Ireland) is a middleweight boxer. Duddy fights under the moniker of Ireland's John Duddy or The Derry Destroyer.
Duddy has lost once in 27 bouts, with 17 of his wins by knockout with 9 of those KO's coming in the first round. However, boxing writer Dan Rafael accused Duddy of having a "carefully manufactured record" and said that Duddy was "exposed" after his first loss.[1] He has been featured in undercard and headlining bouts on ESPN and Top Rank Pay-Per-View, among other television channels.
Duddy is the former IBA World middleweight title and a former WBC Continental Americas middleweight title holder.[2]
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 obtaining the Irish title at both Intermediate and Senior Levels. He also represented Ireland at European level and during Olympic qualifiers.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][9]
Professional career
Debut
Duddy's first professional fight was on 19 September 2003, against Tarek Rashed in The Bronx. He won via first round knockout. 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.[2]
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.[2]
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.
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.
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.[2]
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 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, 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 20th 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. However, the Derryman will first return to the ring in New York on 2 February.[10][11][12]
Loss to Lyell
In his latest bout on April 24, 2009, Duddy was beaten via ten-round decision by Billy Lyell, a fighter with seven losses in his twenty-five fights.
Other information
Popularity
Duddy is a popular fighter and in his short career so far has proven to be able to sell out large venues. Duddy's management, Irish Ropes, turned down a $75,000 contract to fight Cuevas for $10,000 and a 50% share of tickets Duddy sold himself. Duddy's large fan base, made up of both the large Irish immigrant community in New York and fans of his aggressive style, turned out in large numbers for the Cuevas fight.
Irish community in New York
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. Duddy has attended many of the group's meetings and met with Arizona Senator John McCain at a group rally. 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 16 March 2006 fight wearing an ILIR t-shirt, to the crowd's great pleasure.
Bloody Sunday in Derry
John Francis Duddy's uncle, John Francis "Jackie" Duddy (after whom the boxer is named), was killed at the age of 17 on Bloody Sunday, 30 January 1972 in Derry, Northern Ireland. He was shot in the chest in the car park of Rossville flats. Four witnesses stated Duddy was unarmed and running away from the British paratroopers when he was killed. Three of them saw a soldier take deliberate aim at the youth as he ran.
Ratings
Organization | Rank |
---|---|
WBO | 2 |
WBA | Unranked |
WBC | 5 |
IBO | 12 * |
IBF | 7 |
IBA | 10 |
NABO | Unranked |
Boxrec | 30 * |
*Indicates computerized ranking
Professional Record
Date | Opponent | W-L-D | Location | Result | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009-04-24 | Billy Lyell
|
18-7-0 | Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, United States | L SD (10) | |
2009-02-21 | Matt Vanda
|
39-9-0 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, United States | W UD (10) | |
2008-06-28 | Charles Howe
|
17-5-2 | The Castle, Boston, Massachusetts, United States | W UD (10) | |
2008-02-23 | Walid Smichet
|
17-3-3 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, United States | W MD (10) | |
2007-12-08 | Howard Eastman
|
42-5-0 | King's Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland | W PTS (10) | |
2007-10-20 | Prince Arron
|
10-2-0 | National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland | W TKO 2(10) | |
2007-07-14 | Alessio Furlan
|
19-8-5 | National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland | W TKO 10(10) | |
2007-05-18 | Dupre Strickland
|
18-1-1 | Beacon Theatre, New York City, New York, United States | W UD (10) | |
2007-03-16 | Anthony Bonsante
|
29-8-3 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, United States | W TD 9(12) | |
2006-09-29 | Luis Ramon Campas
|
88-8-0 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, United States | W UD (12) | |
2006-06-10 | Alfredo Cuevas
|
25-8-1 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, United States | W RTD 7(12) | |
2006-03-16 | Shelby Pudwill
|
21-2-1 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, United States | W TKO 1(10) | |
2006-02-04 | Julio Jean
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7-6-1 | The Castle, Boston, Massachusetts, United States | W UD (10) | |
2005-12-15 | Wilmer Mejia
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15-4-2 | Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida, United States | W TKO 4(8) | |
2005-11-04 | Bryon Mackie
|
25-11-0 | Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York, United States | W TKO 4(8) | |
2005-09-17 | Joseph Brady
|
13-4-1 | Dana Barros Sports Complex, Mansfield, Massachusetts, United States | W KO 1(8) | |
2005-07-22 | Pat Coleman
|
29-11-0 | Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois, United States | W TKO 8(8) | |
2005-06-11 | Patrick Thompson
|
9-4-1 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, United States | W UD (8) | |
2005-03-18 | Lenord Pierre
|
16-0-0 | Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States | W TKO 1(8) | |
2005-02-04 | Chuck Orso
|
4-5-0 | Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York, United States | W KO 1(8) | |
2004-12-11 | Glen Dunnings
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3-0-0 | Atlantic Oceania, Brighton Beach, New York, United States | W TKO 5(6) | |
2004-11-18 | William Johnson
|
1-1-0 | Manhattan Center, New York City, New York, United States | W TKO 1(4) | |
2004-01-09 | Victor Paz
|
7-0-0 | Orange County Fairgrounds, Middletown, New York, United States | W TKO 1(6) | |
2004-01-09 | Ken Hock
|
10-4-1 | Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | W TKO 4(4) | |
2003-11-21 | Leo Laudat
|
3-5-0 | Crowne Plaza Hotel, New York City, New York, United States | W TKO 1(4) | |
2003-10-22 | Jesse Gomez
|
1-1-0 | Crowne Plaza Hotel, New York City, New York, United States | W TKO 1(4) | |
2003-09-19 | Tarek Rached
|
1-0-0 | Jimmy's Bronx Cafe, Bronx, New York City, New York, United States | W TKO 1(4) |
Notes and references
- ^ Rafael, Dan. "Froch Takes out Taylor in the Final Minute". ESPN. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
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ignored (help) - ^ Shane Murray. "Ireland take Gold". RTÉ News. Retrieved 20 April 2002.
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ignored (help) - ^ Jerry Glick. "Talks to John Duddy". Seconds Out. Retrieved August 2005.
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(help) - ^ Benny Henderson Jr. "Prospect Watch: The Fighting Irishman John Duddy". Doghouse Boxing. Retrieved 10 January 2005.
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ignored (help) - ^ Marilyn Cole Lownes. "The Boxer". Irish Abroad. Retrieved 1 March 2005.
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ignored (help) - ^ Steve Farhood. "Phenomenon". Boxing Monthly. Retrieved May 2006.
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(help) - ^ Matthew Hurley. "Ireland's Warrior - John Duddy". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 1 February 2006.
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ignored (help) - ^ a b Brian Doogan. "Who is John Duddy?". The Times on Line. Retrieved 12 March 2006.
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ignored (help) 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
External links
- John Duddy Fight-by-Fight Career Record
- Boxing record for John Duddy from BoxRec (registration required)
- FightBeat.com Interview with Duddy
- Interview with John Duddy