John Duddy - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

John Francis Duddy is a retired middleweight

Middleweight

Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...

professional boxer

Professional Boxing

Professional boxing, or prizefighting, emerged in the early twentieth century as boxing gradually attained legitimacy and became a regulated, sanctioned sport. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse which is divided among the fighters and promoters as determined by contract...

, from Derry

Derry

Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. Duddy fought under the moniker of "Ireland's John Duddy" or "The Derry Destroyer".

Duddy lost only twice (Billy Lyell, Julio César Chávez, Jr.) in 31 bouts,Duddy goes down fighting 27 June 2010. www.setanta.com Retrieved 2010-06-29 with 18 of his wins by knockout

Knockout

A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...

, with 10 of those KO's coming in the first round. He is the former IBA World and WBC

World Boxing Council

The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...

Continental Americas middleweight title holder.

Amateur career

As an amateur Duddy fought 130 times, winning 100 of his bouts. Duddy won his first Irish national title

Irish Amateur Boxing Association

The Irish Amateur Boxing Association is the governing body of amateur boxing in Ireland. It was founded in 1911 following a meeting in Dublin.-Structure:...

at the age of 15 as a light middleweight

Light middleweight

Light Middleweight , is a weight division in professional boxing, above 147 pounds and up to 154 pounds ....

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.

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. On 22 November, he stopped Jesse Gomez at the Crowne Plaza hotel

Crowne Plaza

Crowne Plaza is a chain of full service, upscale hotels catering to business travelers and to the meetings and conventions market. It forms part of the InterContinental Hotels Group family of brands, which include InterContinental and Holiday Inn and operates in 52 countries, usually located in...

. His next bout was also at the Crowne Plaza, where he beat Leo Laudat on 21 December but suffered his first knockdown.

Early professional fights

Duddy began 2004 by stepping up his opponent quality a notch, when he met Ken Hock on 9 January 2004 in Uncasville, Connecticut

Uncasville, Connecticut

Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut. The area traditionally known as Uncasville is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River...

. 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. He 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

Middletown, Orange County, New York

Middletown is a city in Orange County, New York, United States. It lies in New York's Hudson Valley region, near the Wallkill River and the foothills of the Shawangunk Mountains. Middletown is situated between Port Jervis and Newburgh, New York. The city's population was 25,388 at the 2000 census...

. Duddy quickly returned to action after that fight, beating William Johnson on 18 November in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

.

Duddy's last 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

White Plains, New York

White Plains is a city and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in south-central Westchester, about east of the Hudson River and northwest of Long Island Sound...

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

Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...

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

Heavyweight

Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...

Kevin McBride

Kevin Martin McBride is an Irish boxer, who competed for his native country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.McBride debuted in December 1992, with a victory against Gary Charlton...

, who later defeated Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson

Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...

.

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.

On 11 June 2005 Duddy was up against Patrick Thompson in Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

. 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.

In his next eight fights, Duddy knocked out six 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

Miguel Cotto

Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez is a Puerto Rican professional boxer and the reigning WBA light middleweight champion. He is the younger brother of contender Jose Miguel Cotto and cousin of Abner Cotto...

-Paul Malignaggi

Paul Malignaggi

Paul "Paulie" Malignaggi is an Italian-American professional boxer. He is the former IBF junior welterweight champion, and former WBO NABO light welterweight champion.-Light Welterweight:...

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

Middleweight

champion Jermain Taylor

Jermain Taylor

Jermain Taylor is an American professional boxer and former undisputed middleweight champion. He made his professional boxing debut in 2001 and won his first 25 bouts, which included victories over former champions Raúl Márquez and William Joppy...

. 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.

His next fight came against Yori Boy Campas

Yori Boy Campas

Luis Ramón Campas is a Mexican boxer who was the IBF light middleweight champion. He is better known as Yory Boy Campas.-Background:...

, 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

Anthony Bonsante

Anthony "The Bullet" Bonsante is a professional boxer and competitor on reality TV show The Contender. He also works overnight as a supervisor at a distribution center.-Personal life:...

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

Steve Smoger

Steve Smoger is an American boxing referee. He works exclusively on the East Coast, and is often featured as the referee in world title or major fights taking place at East Coast venues...

, 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

Alessio Furlan

Alessio Furlan is a professional boxer and former Italian and IBF Mediterranean Light Middleweight title holder...

. 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

Prince Arron

Prince Arron is an English professional boxer fighting in the light middleweight division. He was the winner of the tenth Prizefighter tournament featuring boxers in the light middleweight category...

in 2 rounds on October 20 in the National Stadium, Dublin. Duddy fought Howard Eastman at the King's Hall in Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, 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.

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.

Rebuilding

On October 10, 2009, Duddy made a successful return to the ring against Michi Munoz

Michi Munoz

Jorge Michael Munoz , more commonly known as Michi Munoz or Michie Munoz, is a professional boxer from Topeka, Kansas who is known as "the Mexican Sensation" who fights in the middleweight division....

. Duddy won a unanimous decision.

On 23 January 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.

Duddy defeated Michael Medina of Monterrey, Mexico via split Decision on March 13, 2010, on the undercard of the Pacquaio/Clottey WBO Welterweight Championship.

In his final fight he was unanimously outpointed by Julio César Chávez, Jr.

Julio César Chávez, Jr.

Julio César Chávez Carrasco , is an undefeated Mexican boxer and the current WBC Middleweight Champion. His younger brother Omar Chávez is also an undefeated prospect who fights at Welterweight....

in a fight in San Antonio on 26 June 2010.

Retirement

Duddy announced his retirement from boxing on 19 January 2011, after "a great deal of soul-searching" and stated that his decision is final. "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.

Professional boxing record

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|29 Wins (18 knockouts), 2 Loss, 0 Draws,0 No Contest
|- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Res.
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Record
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Opponent
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Type
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Rd., Time
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Date
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Location
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Notes
|-align=center
|Loss||29-2||align=left|

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Julio César Chávez, Jr.

|UD||||2010-06-26
|align=left|

United States Alamodome, San Antonio

Alamodome

The Alamodome is a domed 65,000 seat, multi-purpose facility that is primarily used as a football/basketball stadium and convention center in San Antonio, Texas, U.S...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

Michael Medina

Michael Medina Franco is a American/Mexican professional boxer in the Light Middleweight division and was the Inaugural WBC [FECOMBOX][NATIONAL] Light Middleweight Champion.-Professional career:...

|SD

Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey

Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey, billed as The Event, was a welterweight fight for the WBO World welterweight championship. The bout was held on March 13, 2010, at Cowboys Stadium, in Arlington, Texas, United States. This match was put together after the long awaited "superfight" between Manny...

|| 12
|2010-03-13 || align=left|

Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas

Texas

Juan Astorga
|TKO || 1 , 1:55
|2010-01-23|| align=left|

Madison Square Garden, New York

Madison Square Garden

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

Michi Munoz

|UD || 8
|2009-10-10 || align=left|

Madison Square Garden, New York

Madison Square Garden

, New York

New York

Billy Lyell
|SD || 10
|2009-04-24 || align=left|

Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

Matt Vanda

Matt Vanda, nicknamed the Predator, is a middleweight boxer from east Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA.-Professional career:Vanda's first fight as a professional boxer was on March 30, 1996 in the welterweight division against Ed Fuller in Kearney, Nebraska...

|UD || 10
|2009-02-21|| align=left|

Madison Square Garden, New York

Madison Square Garden

, New York

New York

Charles Howe

Charles Howe is an American professional boxer from Grelton, Ohio, United States. Howe fights at middleweight and challenged for the WBC USNBC middleweight title.-Background:...

|UD || 10
|2008-06-28 || align=left|

Walid Smichet
|MD || 10
|2008-02-23|| align=left|

Madison Square Garden, New York

Madison Square Garden

, New York

New York

Howard Eastman
|PTS || 10
|2007-12-08|| align=left|

King's Hall, Belfast

The King's Hall Complex is a multi-purpose venue located on the Lisburn Road, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the largest exhibition venue in Northern Ireland and prior to the completion of the Odyssey and the Waterfront Hall, was the only large concert venue in Northern Ireland...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

Prince Arron

|TKO || 2 , 2:33
|2007-10-20|| align=left|

National Stadium, Dublin

National Stadium (Ireland)

The National Stadium or National boxing Stadium is one of Ireland's best known boxing venues.The National Stadium was the first purpose built boxing stadium in the world and was opened by Frank Aiken in 1939.-Venue:...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

Alessio Furlan

Alessio Furlan is a professional boxer and former Italian and IBF Mediterranean Light Middleweight title holder...

|TKO || 10 , 2:42
|2007-07-14|| align=left|

National Stadium, Dublin

National Stadium (Ireland)

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

Dupre Strickland
|UD|| 10
|2007-05-18 || align=left|

Beacon Theatre, New York, New York

New York

Anthony Bonsante

Anthony "The Bullet" Bonsante is a professional boxer and competitor on reality TV show The Contender. He also works overnight as a supervisor at a distribution center.-Personal life:...

|TD || 9
|2007-03-16 || align=left|

Madison Square Garden, New York

Madison Square Garden

, New York

New York

Luis Ramon Campas
|UD || 12
|2006-09-29 || align=left|

Madison Square Garden, New York

Madison Square Garden

, New York

New York

Alfredo Cuevas
|RTD || 7 ,
|2006-06-10|| align=left|

Madison Square Garden, New York

Madison Square Garden

, New York

New York

Shelby Pudwill
|TKO || 1 , 1:51
|2006-03-16|| align=left|

Madison Square Garden, New York

Madison Square Garden

, New York

New York

Julio Jean
|UD || 10
|2006-02-04 || align=left|

Wilmer Mejia
|TKO || 4
|2005-12-15 || align=left|

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is a resort near Hollywood, Florida, located on of the Hollywood Reservation of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The hotel has a tower, a casino, a lagoon-style pool area, fifteen restaurants, sixteen shops, the poker room, a spa, improv comedy club, over ten bars and...

Bryon Mackie
|TKO || 4 , 1:32
|2005-11-04|| align=left|

Hammerstein Ballroom, New York

Hammerstein Ballroom

The Hammerstein Ballroom is a two-tiered, 12,000 square feet ballroom located within the Manhattan Center Studios on 311 West 34th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America. It is known for its elegant appearance and excellent acoustical design...

, New York

New York

Joseph Brady
|KO|| 1 , 1:01
|2005-09-17|| align=left|

Dana Barros Sports Complex, Mansfield, Massachusetts

Mansfield, Massachusetts

Mansfield is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population is 23,184. Mansfield is in the south-southwest suburbs of Boston and is also close to Providence, Rhode Island....

Pat Coleman
|TKO || 8 , 2:30
|2005-07-22 || align=left|

Allstate Arena, Rosemont

Allstate Arena

Allstate Arena is a multi-purpose arena, in Rosemont, Illinois.It is home to the Chicago Rush, of the Arena Football League, DePaul University's men's basketball team, the Chicago Wolves, of the AHL, and the Chicago Sky, of the WNBA.It is located near the intersection of Mannheim Road and...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

Patrick Thompson
|UD || 8
|2005-06-11|| align=left|

Madison Square Garden, New York

Madison Square Garden

, New York

New York

Lenord Pierre
|TKO || 1 , 1:23
|2005-03-18|| align=left|

Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket

Foxwoods Resort Casino

Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel-casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States. Together with the MGM Grand at Foxwoods, it is one of the largest casino complexes in the world in terms of floor space for gaming. The entire resort comprises of space. The casino has over 380 gaming tables...

, Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

Chuck Orso
|KO || 1 , 1:37
|2005-02-04|| align=left|

Westchester County Center, White Plains

Westchester County Center

Westchester County Center is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in White Plains, New York. It hosts various local concerts and sporting events for the area....

, New York

New York

Glen Dunnings
|TKO || 5 , 1:20
|2004-12-11|| align=left|

William Johnson
|TKO || 1 , 0:39
|2004-11-18 || align=left|

Manhattan Center, New York

Manhattan Center

The Manhattan Center building, built in 1906 and located at 311 West 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan, houses Manhattan Center Studios , its Grand Ballroom, and the Hammerstein Ballroom, one of New York City's most renowned performance venues...

, New York

New York

Victor Paz
|TKO || 1 , 2:04
|2004-10-30|| align=left|

Orange County Fairgrounds, Middletown, New York

New York

Ken Hock
|TKO || 4 , ?:??
|2004-01-09 || align=left|

Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut

Connecticut

Leo Laudat
|TKO || 1 , ?:??
|2003-11-21 || align=left|

Crowne Plaza Hotel, New York, New York

New York

Jesse Gomez
|TKO || 1 , ?:??
|2003-10-22 || align=left|

Crowne Plaza Hotel, New York, New York

New York

Tarek Rached
|TKO || 1 , ?:??
|2003-09-19|| align=left|

Jimmy's Bronx Cafe, Bronx, New York
|align=left|

Personal life

John has a wife named Grainne. His Uncle Jackie Duddy, was one of the 14 people killed by British Army Paratroopers, during Bloody Sunday

Bloody Sunday (1972)

Bloody Sunday —sometimes called the Bogside Massacre—was an incident on 30 January 1972 in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, in which twenty-six unarmed civil rights protesters and bystanders were shot by soldiers of the British Army...

External links

FightBeat.com Interview with Duddy
Brickcityboxing Interview with Duddy

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