TalkingBoxing Interviews
Talking Boxing with JOHN DUDDY
FRI June 3, BRIAN SKJOLD - This June 11th, on the Miguel Cotto Vs. Mohamad Abdulaev undercard, John Duddy will be making his first appearance at Madison Square Garden. If you haven’t had a chance to watch Duddy fight, I recommend you start watching now. With an impressive record of 9-0 with 9 convincing KOs this 25 year old from Derry, Northern Ireland is looking more and more impressive with each outing.
Coming off a devastating 1st round TKO over the previously undefeated Lenord Pierre (16-1), John Duddy is rising quickly through the middleweight ranks, and boxing fans around the world are taking notice.
“There are a lot of fans coming to the fights. It’s great to see. There’s a great buzz around the area I live. I came here two years ago and nobody really knew me. But, now strangers are coming up to me and saying hello to me, and looking to see me fight again, and when might I be on the T.V. again. I think that’s very exciting. I generate, I suppose, a lot of interest. There seems to be a lot of people interested in buying tickets. Hopefully the way I keep going, in a year or two, the fan base will be much, much bigger than just the local Irish people.”
There’s no doubt the fans love to watch the heavy hitters like John Duddy demolish their opponents. Duddy makes no promises on his KOs, but is always game for a fight.
“I train for every fight to go the distance. And the first round I go out and see what the guy has, and if he can take what I have. And I see if I can take what he has. I’ve been very lucky. A lot of the guys haven’t been able to take what I have.”
Before moving to New York 2 years ago to pursue his professional boxing career, John Duddy was an excellent amateur, compiling a 100-20 record. With that extensive amateur experience came many opportunities for Duddy, both in and out of the ring.
“I won my first national title when I was 20, and I was competing with Ireland all around the world. Different places all around Europe and America and Cuba and Russia and places like that. So, I got to see a lot of different parts of the world that I probably wouldn’t have been able to see if I wasn’t boxing. I had a great experience meeting a lot of different people and seeing a lot of different life styles. I came to America twice before I ventured out here to become a professional. I believe that if you want to make it in boxing, this is the place to come.”
According to Duddy, if you would have seen him fight as an amateur you might not have recognized the demolition machine he’s become now.
“Professional boxing and amateur boxing are really two different sports, and there are a lot of aspects of my fighting game that have changed dramatically since I turned professional. We’ve been back on the basics, like punching technique, speed and relaxing, footwork and stuff like that. I have improved so much. As an amateur I was a totally different fighter. I was on my toes. I was a boxer. I had to go back and readjust everything I was doing. And, my coach has a belief in me that I’ve been able to do it.”
John Duddy has been dazzling in his young career to date, but he is quick to point out that this is just the start, and there’s much, much more to come.
“I only have 9 fights, so there’s a long way to go. My only objective is to keep myself fit and healthy and keep fighting. In boxing you’re only as good as your next fight. You’re top of the heap one day and if you get beat you are yesterday’s news. I’m still an amateur in this sport. There’s a lot of guys, with a lot more experience and a lot more talent as well. I look at myself as doing my apprenticeship as a professional. I’m learning the game and we’re trying to up the level every step of the way. Hopefully I’ll be up for the challenges whenever they come. I take it a fight at a time. I don’t mind who it is, or where it is. As long as I’m fighting and I’m fit.”
Duddy realizes that as a young fighter he needs to continue to perform if he wants to reach the top. Along with performing to the best of his ability and entertaining the fans, there are also two other pieces to this puzzle that make everything run smoothly.
“I would like to thank all of my fans for their support and their interest. It’s a pleasure and an honor and hopefully I’ll keep giving them someone to watch and someone to cheer for. And, hopefully in a few years, maybe a title. I just hope to keep entertaining and keep them interested in the sport of boxing. Also, I’d like to thank my coach Harry Keitt and my manager Eddie McLoughlin. Without those two people I wouldn’t be here right now. The McLoughlin brothers are the people who brought me here first. I’m enjoying the roller coaster ride of a professional boxer as long as it lasts.”
If you have a chance to see John Duddy on June 11, don’t miss it. And, watch out for this Irish roller coaster…it’s coming down the tracks.
Comments or Questions? e-mail me at: bskjold@talkingboxing.com
