31.08.05 – By Craig Parrish: Every once in a while, you catch a young prospect fighting on an under card on television and it makes you sit up straight in your chair and say “Wow”! I have seen John Duddy fight 3 times now. I have sat up in my chair and said “Wow” 3 times in a row. This young Irish prospect has seemingly all the tools you need to become a Champion. High work output. Fast hands. Good chin.. Good technique. And a punch like a sledgehammer. John Duddy is 11-0, and in those fights he has had 10 knockouts, 7 of them coming in the first round.
It should be noted that not all of those fights came against “Tomato cans”, as you see a lot of young fighters doing. Duddy and his handlers have continued to step up his level of competition fight after fight. In just his fifth fight, Duddy took on the up and coming Victor Paz, who at the time was 7-0 and is currently 9-1. The one defeat came at the hands of Duddy via a first round knockout.
In his 9th fight, Duddy took on fellow undefeated prospect Leonard Pierre, who at the time was 16-0. This was a wild fight, with both fighters coming out blazing in the first round, each looking for the quick knockout. While Pierre was game and stung Duddy a few times, he simply could not weather the barrage of big punches that Duddy unleashed and was dropped. Duddy claimed a TKO victory in the first round and handed Pierre his first defeat. After the bout, Duddy could be heard exclaiming laughingly to Pierre “There wasn’t no boxing in that”! And indeed, at points the slugfest did look like a street fight.
In his latest fight, John stepped up his level of competition again and took on seasoned veteran Patrick Coleman, who has been in the ring with a couple of ex-world Champs. While Duddy dominated the fight, outworking Coleman handily, it looked like Coleman would survive the 8 rounds with the Irishman. Suddenly, late in the 8th, Duddy unleashed a combination that dropped Coleman to the canvas. The Ref had called him out before Coleman hit the floor. This was an awesome display of the power that John Duddy possesses.
John Duddy was born in Derry, Northern Ireland on June 19th, 1979. He had a stellar career as an amateur, amassing a record of 100-30, and he won the Irish National Junior, Intermediate, and Senior Light Middleweight Championships. As an Amateur, Duddy wasn’t known for his knockout power but since moving to the states he has worked on his punching technique with obvious results. He lives and trains in New York City. His next scheduled fight is September 17th against Joseph Brady (13-4-1) at the Dana Barros Sports Complex in Mansfield, MA.
If there is any way that you can attend this fight, do it. John Duddy is one of the most exciting prospects that has come up in a while, and you may just be witnessing history in the making.