Post by earl on Jun 30, 2008 14:30:46 GMT
Boxing before his Boston fans for the first time in 2 years, Ireland’s John Duddy dominated from start to finish last night, winning all 10 rounds on the scorecards of the three ringside judges in subduing Ohio veteran Charlie Howe in the main event of Irish Ropes’ five-bout card at the Park Plaza Castle.
The Park Square fortress turned into an Irish hooley for an evening as a capacity crowd of 1,200 turned out in the hope that Duddy’s performance would be spectacular enough to merit his hoped-for meeting vs. another Ohio middleweight, world champion Kelly Pavlik.
The critics’ verdict was that while it might not rate as spectacular, Duddy’s work against Howe was in many respects his most impressive to date. Fighting for the first time under new trainer Patrick Burns, he not only consistently worked off his jab, but a man whose bravado has often gotten him into trouble by making him easy to hit, proved an elusive target.
“I decided to stop being so hard-headed and do a bit of boxing,” said Duddy with a smile after posting his 25th win in as many pro fights.
The loss left Howe, who got high marks for his resiliency and the granite chin he put on display at the Castle, with a career mark of 17-5-2. While Duddy’s fans would obviously have preferred to see a knockout, there is no disgrace in going the distance with Howe, who was around for the final bell against 22 other opponents.
Burns seemed pleased by his new pupil’s first outing, but cautioned “I don’t want to take anything away from his previous trainers (Harry Keitt and Don Turner). I’ve won one fight with him. They won 24.
“When I looked at films of his earlier fights, it seemed as if whenever he got hit he had a tendency to get his Irish up and fight like he was coming out of a bar. What we worked a lot on was keeping him patient and fighting under control, using his jab the way he did tonight.”
Although there were no knockdowns, Duddy badly staggered Howe in the second when he followed a left to the body with a hard left hook. Howe was knocked spread-eagled into the ring ropes, without which he might well have landed in the seats, but referee Mike Marvelle did not rule it a knockdown.
On several other occasions, notably in the fifth, seventh and eighth rounds, Duddy appeared to have Howe hurt late in the stanza, only to have the bell end the round before he could finish the job.
Howe bled for most of the night after being ripped under the left eyelid in the first round, and a clash of heads late in the ninth drew blood from Duddy as well. The gash, no more than an inch and a half long, was stitched afterward, and is unlikely to be a detriment to a September fight.
Duddy went into his Hub appearance ranked the No. 2 middleweight by both the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association, and while it appears that he will indeed be fighting again in September and quite possibly for a world title, it may not be Pavlik’s.
The month he spent training Duddy at the Phantom Gym in Miami convinced Burns that Duddy’s optimal weight may be at 154 pounds, not 160. The Irishman weighed 158 last night, and, says Burns, “I think he can make junior middleweight with ease. When I asked him about it, he said ‘No problem.’ ”
Irish Ropes has already been in negotiation with Art Pelullo, the promoter of Internatinal Boxing Federation junior middle champ Verno Phillips, for a September fight that could take place in either the United States (New York or Las Vegas) or Ireland, with both Dublin and Belfast potential venues.
The Park Square fortress turned into an Irish hooley for an evening as a capacity crowd of 1,200 turned out in the hope that Duddy’s performance would be spectacular enough to merit his hoped-for meeting vs. another Ohio middleweight, world champion Kelly Pavlik.
The critics’ verdict was that while it might not rate as spectacular, Duddy’s work against Howe was in many respects his most impressive to date. Fighting for the first time under new trainer Patrick Burns, he not only consistently worked off his jab, but a man whose bravado has often gotten him into trouble by making him easy to hit, proved an elusive target.
“I decided to stop being so hard-headed and do a bit of boxing,” said Duddy with a smile after posting his 25th win in as many pro fights.
The loss left Howe, who got high marks for his resiliency and the granite chin he put on display at the Castle, with a career mark of 17-5-2. While Duddy’s fans would obviously have preferred to see a knockout, there is no disgrace in going the distance with Howe, who was around for the final bell against 22 other opponents.
Burns seemed pleased by his new pupil’s first outing, but cautioned “I don’t want to take anything away from his previous trainers (Harry Keitt and Don Turner). I’ve won one fight with him. They won 24.
“When I looked at films of his earlier fights, it seemed as if whenever he got hit he had a tendency to get his Irish up and fight like he was coming out of a bar. What we worked a lot on was keeping him patient and fighting under control, using his jab the way he did tonight.”
Although there were no knockdowns, Duddy badly staggered Howe in the second when he followed a left to the body with a hard left hook. Howe was knocked spread-eagled into the ring ropes, without which he might well have landed in the seats, but referee Mike Marvelle did not rule it a knockdown.
On several other occasions, notably in the fifth, seventh and eighth rounds, Duddy appeared to have Howe hurt late in the stanza, only to have the bell end the round before he could finish the job.
Howe bled for most of the night after being ripped under the left eyelid in the first round, and a clash of heads late in the ninth drew blood from Duddy as well. The gash, no more than an inch and a half long, was stitched afterward, and is unlikely to be a detriment to a September fight.
Duddy went into his Hub appearance ranked the No. 2 middleweight by both the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association, and while it appears that he will indeed be fighting again in September and quite possibly for a world title, it may not be Pavlik’s.
The month he spent training Duddy at the Phantom Gym in Miami convinced Burns that Duddy’s optimal weight may be at 154 pounds, not 160. The Irishman weighed 158 last night, and, says Burns, “I think he can make junior middleweight with ease. When I asked him about it, he said ‘No problem.’ ”
Irish Ropes has already been in negotiation with Art Pelullo, the promoter of Internatinal Boxing Federation junior middle champ Verno Phillips, for a September fight that could take place in either the United States (New York or Las Vegas) or Ireland, with both Dublin and Belfast potential venues.