'THAT’S HOWE to do it’ was the verdict after unbeaten Irish middleweight John Duddy went back to his boxing skills to rack up the 25th win of his career at the Castle in Boston last Saturday night.
The Derryman outclassed Charles Howe, working effectively behind his left jab to take all 10 rounds and earn a unanimous decision from the three ringside judges. For his second straight fight, Duddy received a cut around his right eye after an accidental clash of heads against Howe in the ninth round. The cut required three stitches, but according to manager and promoter Eddie McLoughlin, they are now back on track, and Duddy could challenge Verno Phillips for his light middleweight world title in Ireland in September. McLoughlin reckons that Denver-born Phillips, a veteran of 54 fights (with 42 victories), could be persuaded to come to Ireland to defend his belt, with The King’s Hall in Belfast a possible venue.
However, Mayo native McLoughlin, who heads Irish Ropes Promotions in New York, insisted that their ultimate target was Kelly Pavlik’s middleweight crown. And he believes that Saturday’s win has the show very much back on the road, following Duddy’s less-than-impressive victory against Walid Smichet last February. He said: “Our major target is Pavlik’s world title. That is our long-term plan which we intend to go for in the short-term sometime in the next year or so. “John enjoyed himself on Saturday night. He got back to what he does best and that is boxing, and he was on top from the opening bell against Howe.”
Almost 1,300 Irish fans watched as Duddy wobbled Howe with shuddering body shots in the second, fifth and eight rounds at the Castle, but the Ohio-born puncher refused to drop. “That man has some chin,” Duddy declared after the fight, “I thought he was ready to go down but fair play to him, he showed great heart to stay in there right until the end.” Duddy’s new coach Pat Burns, a Miami-based Irish- American, was working the Ulsterman’s corner for the first time on Saturday night and was happy with the outcome. “I wanted John to get back to his boxing skills in this fight and that’s exactly what he did – and he scored a good solid win against a seasoned pro,” he said. “We are pleased with the win and the way it was achieved. John was in control almost from the start and we can now use this as a platform to move onward and upward.”
MEANWHILE, the Irish Olympic boxing squad will have their final training camp in Vladivostok, Russia next month before August’s Olympic Games in Beijing. Ireland’s five Olympic boxers were the guests of honour at the presentation ceremony at the National Stadium in Dublin last Friday as the countdown to the games began in earnest. Ken Egan, Darren Sutherland, John Joe Joyce, John Joe Nevin and Paddy Barnes have all qualified for Beijing and will be carrying the nation’s hopes in the Chinese capital in August.
The squad leave for a training camp in Bugeat, France from 7–14 July and then travel to Beijing on 22 July for three days of acclimatisation. They move on to Vladivostok, near the Russian/Chinese border, for a training camp on 26 July before heading back to Beijing on 6 August before the games begin on 8 August. Vladivostok, when translated from Russian, means ‘to conquer the east’, and that is exactly what Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) high performance director Gary Keegan will be looking for in Beijing, “It only seems like a few weeks ago when Andy Lee was Ireland’s only boxer at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens,” said Keegan. “And now here we are again, but this time we have five boxers qualified and we are looking forward to what should be an incredibly exciting time for Irish amateur boxing.” The president of the IABA, Dominic O’Rourke, made last Friday’s presentations to the Irish Olympic squad.
