by James Slater – Exciting middleweights from Ireland John Duddy and Andy Lee may wind up squaring off in an all-Irish showdown later this year, reports Irish Ropes.com. Both guys, though perhaps not quite as good as they were thought to be when they boasted unbeaten records, are extremely popular with the fans, and if the match-up does go ahead it’s likely the ensuing fight would be a great one in terms of action.
Limerick southpaw Lee, 19-1(14) last fought just this past Friday night, when he hammered out an 8th round TKO win over Anthony Shuler.. The Emanuel Steward-trained 25-year-old has now won four in a row since suffering his sole pro career loss, the March, 2008 7th round upset TKO at the hands of Brian Vera. Now, with Irish rival Duddy set to return from his own maiden defeat – the split decision loss to Billy Lyell back in April – the word is the two could meet in November.
Duddy fights against an as yet unknown foe on the upcoming October 10th card in New York’s Madison Square Garden that will be topped by Juan Manuel Lopez- Rogers Mtagwa, Yuriorkis Gamboa-Whyber Garcia and Kevin Johnson-Odlanier Solis. If victorious, the 30-year-old from Derry could then face Lee.
Promoter Brian Peters told Irish Ropes that he will offer an incentive for the eventual winner of the prospective fight.
“I see the deal for this fight as 50/50 because to me the status of both men is on a par,” Peters said. “But to make it that bit more attractive to them I’m prepared to offer a $50,000 bonus to the winner.”
And younger man Lee is up for the fight, as he told Irish Ropes.
“I’m up for the fight with John Duddy,” Lee said. “This is a fight the public have been speculating about for some considerable time and I believe it will be a memorable occasion with plenty of edge and drama.”
This fight does indeed have all the makings of a barnburner. Both men can slug, both men are not that hard to hit (Duddy especially) and both men have no shortage of guts and courage. Duddy, 26-1(17) has shown a tendency to suffer cuts in fights – largely due to his leaky defence – but in all other aspects he is pretty evenly matched with Lee.
Lee is the taller man by quite a margin at 6’2″ to 5’11,” and his southpaw stance could well prove problematic for Duddy. On the other hand, Duddy has never been stopped, while Lee has been TKO’d. In truth, neither guy has met any top class names at 160-pounds so far, and it remains to be seen if either fighter will ever get as far as challenging for a recognised world title.
Even if neither guy gets to the very top, though, it doesn’t mean the are not value for money fighters. A Lee-Duddy clash could even be better than many a world title fight. Let’s hope the fight gets signed.