John Duddy
Bio:
John Francis Duddy (born 19 June 1979, Derry, Northern Ireland) is an Irish middleweight professional boxer. Duddy fights under the moniker of Ireland's John Duddy or The Derry Destroyer.
Duddy lost twice in 31 bouts, with 18 of his wins by knockout with 9 of those KO's coming in the first round. He is the former IBA World and WBC Continental Americas middleweight title holder.
As an amateur Duddy fought 130 times, winning 100 of his bouts. Duddy won his first Irish national title at the age of 15 as a light middleweight in the Junior Division, later winning Irish titles at the Intermediate and Elite Levels. He also represented Ireland at European level and during Olympic qualifiers.
Duddy turned professional September 2003, and his first fight as a pro was fight Tarek Rashed in The Bronx. He won via first round knockout. On 22 November, he stopped Jesse Gomez at the Crowne Plaza hotel. His next bout was also at the Crowne Plaza, where he beat Leo Laudat on 21 December but suffered his first knockdown.
Duddy began 2004 by stepping up his opponent quality a notch, when he met Ken Hock on 9 January at Uncasville, Connecticut. Hock had ten victories against four losses and one draw (tie) coming into his bout with Duddy. Hock became the first boxer to go more than one round against Duddy, but still lost by knockout to the Irish prospect in the fourth round.
Duddy then experienced his career's longest lay-off, waiting over nine months before his next bout. When he returned, he once again won by first round knockout, defeating Victor Paz on 30 October at Middletown, New York. Duddy quickly returned to action after that fight, beating William Johnson on 18 November in Manhattan.
Duddy's final fight of 2004 came on 12 December at Brighton Beach, Brooklyn against the then undefeated Glen Dunnings. Dunnings became only the second boxer to go more than one round against Duddy, when he was knocked out in the fifth round.
Duddy's first fight of 2005 came on 4 February, when he beat Chuck Orso in White Plains.
On 18 March, Duddy fought the undefeated prospect Leonard Pierre as part of an Irish themed "day after Saint Patrick's Day card". This undercard was televised in the United States on ESPN, with Duddy and Pierre fighting the semi-main event of the card, which was headlined by heavyweight Kevin McBride, who later defeated Mike Tyson.[8]
Both the live crowd and the television announcers expected an early knockout in this fight, given that Pierre also had six first round knockout wins. Duddy proceeded to drop Pierre twice before experienced referee Frank Cappuccino stopped the fight, giving Duddy his seventh first round knockout, and his ninth consecutive knockout victory. The famous former boxer Micky Ward, who is Irish-American and who provided commentary from the ESPN studio for that fight, expressed pleasure with Duddy's performance that night.
On 11 June 2005 Duddy boxed against Patrick Thompson in Madison Square Garden. Thompson became the third boxer to last the first round, and both fighters boxed to a judge's decision. The score on all three cards was 80-72 in favor of Duddy, who extended his win streak to ten, while his knockout streak ended at nine.
In his next eight fights, he knocked out six of his opponents, including first round knock outs of both Joseph Brady (17 September 2005) and Shelby Pudwill (16 March 2006). On the undercard of the 10 June 2006 Miguel Cotto-Paul Malignaggi Top Rank Pay-Per-View fight, Duddy took on the experienced fighter Alfredo Cuevas, who in 2004 went the 12 round distance with current middleweight champion Jermain Taylor. It was Duddy's eighth fight in less than a year and his third at Madison Square Garden, but he showed no signs of fatigue, fighting Cuevas for 7 rounds before Cuevas retired on his stool with a broken nose and several deep cuts.
Duddy's next fight came against Yori Boy Campas, again at Madison Square Garden. Against an opponent with ten times more professional experience, Duddy went the distance, winning in a unanimous decision after 12 rounds.
On 16 March 2007, he beat Anthony Bonsante at Madison Square Garden. Duddy won with a unanimous 90-81, 89-82 and 88-83 decision when the fight was stopped after the ninth round by referee Steve Smoger, due to heavy bleeding from Bonsante's forehead caused by an earlier accidental headbutt.
On 14 July 2007 Duddy fought the first of his two scheduled fights in what has been billed as his "Homecoming" to Ireland. In his first at the National Stadium in Dublin, his opponent was Alessio Furlan. Duddy was ruled the winner by TKO with only 10 seconds to go in the 10th and final round. John then went on to defeat Prince Arron in 2 rounds on October 20 in the National Stadium, Dublin.
Duddy fought Howard Eastman at the King's Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 8 December. The fight was expected to be his toughest to date. In front of 5,500 supporters, Duddy recorded a ten round 96-94 points victory. The fight was close and exciting with the crowd encouraging Duddy's promotional team to consider a return to the Belfast venue in the near future.
In November, 2008 John Duddy broke away from his prior manager Tony McLoughlin and his brother, promoter Eddie McLoughlin of Irish Ropes alledging mismanagement and improper disbursement of funds. A lawsuit commenced which has now been settled. Craig Hamilton is now John Duddy's management advisor. Hamilton was instrumental in leading the career of heavyweight prospect Michael Grant in the 1990's and along with John Duddy he now manages the boxing career of young junior welterweight prospect and former Golden Gloves champion, Christian Martinez. John Duddy currently has no promoter of record, although he has fought a number of his recent fights under the banner of Bob Arum and Top Rank. His first fight with Craig Hamilton was his successful ten round decision over Matt Vanda in New York on February 21, 2009.
On April 24, 2009, Duddy was beaten via ten-round decision by Billy Lyell, a fighter with seven losses in his twenty-five fights. It was a listless effort by John in a fight he was severely cut and fought effectively only in spurts.
John married his long time love Grainne following the Lyell fight and resides with her in New York. Duddy also made a change in trainers going back to his early trainer Harry Keitt. He works out of the noted Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn.
On October 10, 2009, Duddy made a successful return to the ring against Michi Munoz. Duddy won a unanimous 8 round decision. On January 23, 2010, Duddy fought Juan Astoga in Madison Square Garden. He went on to win by way of technical knockout in the first round, giving him his 18th KO. Duddy hammered Astorga with his right hand before finishing him with a tremendous left hook to the body.
John Duddy fought Michael Medina (23-1) at Cowboys Stadium on March 13, 2010 in a scheduled 10 round bout in the middleweight division.
John Duddy scored a split 10 round decision over Michael Medina. Duddy hurt Medina with a hook to the body in the eighth round which sent him back into the ropes and Duddy scored with a big right hand to the head in the 9th round which momentarily stunned Medina. Medina proved to be a worthy and tough opponent throughout. Most sportswriters polled at ringside had Duddy winning seven or eight of the rounds, but the decision was closer.
The victory put Duddy in line for a major fight with Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. in Texas in June, 2010. Chavez, Jr. was on suspension until mid June for taking a banned substance.
John Duddy reached agreement to fight Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on June 26, 2010. The fight was at the 160 lb. middleweight limit. The fight was promoted by Bob Arum's Top Rank and was telecast worldwide as the main event on his Latin Fury show. Both fighters appeared at press conferences in San Antonio on April 26th and in Los Angeles on April 27th. There was also a press conference in New York at a time closer to the fight. This was a pivotal fight for both fighters and was by far the biggest fight in both of their careers.
The fight between John Duddy and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. was for the W.B.C. Silver Belt in the middleweight division. The winner of the fight was to be the mandatory contender for the W.B.C. middleweight title. The fight was a twelve round contest at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. pounded out a unanimous 12 round decision over Ireland's John Duddy on Saturday night (June 26th) at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The fight was fairly even for 6 rounds and in the 6th round Chavez, Jr. was rocked by a big Duddy right hand. Once he survived that, however, he clearly outboxed Duddy in the remaining rounds and rocked him numerous times with both right and left hands. It was the biggest test thus far for Chavez, Jr. and he raised his game resulting in an impressive win. Both men were in great shape for the fight, but in the end the younger Chavez, Jr. proved the more athletic and assertive.
After much speculation of a possible bout with fellow Irishman Andy Lee it appeared this fight will not happen. No definite offers were made to the fighters.
John Duddy was speculated to fight again in early 2011. A number of significant fights were being considered.
John Duddy was scheduled to meet southpaw Andy Lee at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut on March 12, 2011 in a much anticipated bout. Lee (24-1) had won his past nine fights and had become a viable contender in the middleweight division. This fight was to be the first fight telecast on HBO in front of middleweight champion Sergio Martinez who would fight in the main event.
John Duddy announced his retirement on January 18, 2011. This was a difficult and well thought out decision, but after much soul searching John felt it was time to stop. He lost his passion for training and fighting. He did not wish to put in a half hearted effort just to collect the sizeable payday he would have realized from the Andy Lee fight. John always felt he owed his many fans the best possible effort and realized he could no longer give them that.
John Duddy has retired from fighting, but he continues to be involved in the fight game. John provided commentary for the 2011 New York Golden Gloves and will be doing production work for the EPIX telecast of the Felix Sturm-Matthew Macklin middleweight championship fight on June 25, 2011.
Since his retirement John Duddy has taken up the craft of acting in a serious way. His newest endeavor is the male lead in the play For Love. The play is heading overseas to the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2013.
In late 2012 I received a call from an assistant producer of the new Bon Jovi music video, "Because We Can," looking for a fighter to star in the video. My choice, of course, was John Duddy, an experienced fighter at a high level of the sport coupled with significant acting experience and the physical presence necessary to produce a successful video. John Duddy is now starring in the new Bon Jovi music video, "Because We Can." It can be seen on You Tube or by clicking the link below.
John Duddy has taken up a career in acting.
Duddy pursued acting mainly in New York City, where the working class Irishman found an especially warm welcome among working class New Yorkers and Irish émigrés. Duddy landed roles in short film, web series and the Off Broadway stage. Duddy played the title character in the 2011 production of Kid Shamrock, Bobby Cassidy Jr.'s play based on the life of his father, American boxer "Irish" Bobby Cassidy. In 2012, Duddy played the bartender in the Matt Glasson short film Hard Times and portrayed the character Mark Sullivan in the online series The Wronged One (2010-2012, 2016), a revenge-thriller based on a graphic novel. In The Wronged One, Duddy's character appeared in an episode entitled "The Derry Destroyer" in honor of Duddy's boxing nickname. In January 2016, Latino Review reported The Wrong One had the attention of IFC (U.S. Network), formerly the Independent Film Channel. IFC contemplated featuring the series on the channel's website. In the 2013 production of For Love by Laosia Sexton. Laoisa Sexton's play about 3 single women in Dublin, Ireland and the men in their lives, Duddy portrayed all the male characters. Duddy's work in For Love won praise from Backstage Magazine and the New York Times. After the March 9-April 5, 2013 run at New York City's Irish Repertory Theatre, Duddy continued with an Irish tour of For Love in Derry and Belfast in Northern Ireland and Waterford, Dublin and Galway in the Republic of Ireland. For the 2013 film Grudge Match, Duddy helped Robert De Niro train for boxing sequences choreographed by Robert Sale, the film's boxing technical adviser.
His work with Sale and De Niro on Grudge Match led to Duddy's casting in the Roberto Duran biopic Hands of Stone (2016). In September 2013, Sale called Duddy to suggest the actor accept the phone call he was about to get from an unfamiliar number. De Niro himself called to offer Duddy the role of legendary Scottish boxer Ken Buchanan after another actor withdrew from the part. Interviewed by American sports writer Thomas Hauser, Duddy recalled, "Filming Hands of Stone was an incredible experience."
Record:
2003
09-19 -- Tarek Rached, Bronx, NY, TKO 1
10-22 -- Jesse Gomez, New York, NY, TKO 1
11-21 -- Leo Laudat, New York, NY, TKO 1
2004
01-09 -- Ken Hock, Uncasville, CT, TKO 4
10-30 -- Victor Paz, Middletown, NY, TKO 1
11-18 -- William Johnson, New York, NY, TKO 1
12-11 -- Glen Dunnings, Brighton Beach, NY, TKO 5
2005
02-04 -- Chuck Orso, White Plains, NY, KO 1
03-18 -- Lenord Pierre, Mashantucket, CT, TKO 1
06-11 -- Patrick Thompson, New York, NY, W 8
07-22 -- Pat Coleman, Rosemont, IL, TKO 8
09-17 -- Joseph Bradym, Mansfield, MA, KO 1
11-04 -- Bryon Mackie, New York, NY, TKO 4
12-15 -- Wilmer Mejia, Hollywood, FL, TKO 4
2006
02-04 -- Julio Jean, Boston, MA, W 10
03-16 -- Shelby Pudwill, New York, NY, TKO 1
06-10 -- Alfredo Cuevas, New York, NY, TKO 7
09-29 -- Ramon "Yory Boy" Campas, New York, NY, W 12
2007
03-16 -- Anthony Bonsante, New York, NY, W Tech Dec 9
05-18 -- Dupre Strickland, New York, NY, W 10
07-14 -- Alessio Furlan, Dublin, Ireland, TKO 10
10-20 -- Prince Arron, Dublin, Ireland, TKO 2
12-08 -- Howard Eastman, Belfast, Northern Ireland, W 10
2008
02-23 -- Walid Smichet, New York, NY, W 10
06-28 -- Charles Howe, Boston, MA, W 10
2009
02-21 -- Matt Vanda, New York, NY, W 10
04-24 -- Billy Lyell, Newark, NJ, L 10
10-10 -- Michi Munoz, New York, NY, W 8
2010
01-23 -- Juan Astorga, New York, NY, KO 1
03-13 -- Michael Medina, Dallas, TX, W 10
06-26 -- Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., San Antonio, TX, L 12
More Information:
THE TRUTH ABOUT JOHN DUDDY BY THOMAS HAUSER
JOHN & GRAINNE DUDDY BY THOMAS HAUSER
JOHN DUDDY BOXING RECORD BY BOXREC.COM
Shadow Boxer with John Duddy
John Duddy Documentary
Duddy vs. Pierre
CHAVEZ, JR. DEFEATS DUDDY
CHAVEZ-DUDDY by THOMAS HAUSER
JOHN DUDDY RETIRES
CRAIG HAMILTON ON JOHN DUDDY'S RETIREMENT
JOHN DUDDY IN FOR LOVE
JOHN DUDDY STARS IN BON JOVI MUSIC VIDEO
JOHN DUDDY IN BECAUSE WE CAN
JOHN DUDDY INTERVIEW
AFTER THE RING, A LIFE ON THE SCREEN