John Duddy, George Foreman III To Be Added To Pacquiao/Clottey Card?

by James Slater – With tickets to the fast approaching Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey welterweight title fight reportedly selling very well indeed, the paying fans may wind up getting more value for their dollars by way of a pretty decent under-card. As the debate continues to rage regarding whether or not disgraced Mexican Antonio Margarito – who is hoping to face Carson Jones on the March 13th bill in Dallas – should get a license to fight again, BoxRec also have the names of John Duddy and George Foreman III as appearing on the card..

Middleweight Duddy, 28-1(18), fresh off his quick night’s work against Juan Astorga on January 23rd, a 1st-round KO, is down as facing a TBA over eight scheduled rounds. While the son of legendary heavyweight king George Foreman Senior, “Monk” Foreman, 5-0(5), who last blew away a hapless Yul Witherspoon inside a round in early January, is down on BoxRec as facing a TBA over a scheduled four rounds.

With the Alfonso Gomez-Jose Luis Castillo fight set for the supporting bill slot in March, the addition of Duddy and Foreman would serve to at least give the card some more big name value. 30-year-old Duddy is one of the most fan-friendly warriors out there at this time, and seeing him in action in front of a crowd of 50,000 or more could be fun. Hoping to get a crack at a world title later this year, the Irishman who is based in New York always comes to fight hard and will not want to lose the momentum he has picked up in winning two straight since his upset loss to Billy Lyell back in April of last year.

As for Foreman III, he has yet to be remotely tested, and this probably will not change if he fights in Dallas in March. Still, it may prove to be exciting for the fans, seeing the 26-year-old bowling someone else over; especially if his all-time great of a father is in the corner with him – just the sight of the original “Big” George can be enough to get the fans cheering!

And if Margarito does get the go-ahead to fight on the bill, the excitement level (with fans either cheering, booing or just plain curios) figures to go up even higher. The main event doesn’t need any further selling (as is evident by the great ticket sales) but the planned under-card, while not a sensational one, won’t hurt Pacquiao-Clottey’s chances of being a sell out.