Duddy’s sendoff a dud

If there is one certainty about “Ireland’s” John Duddy, it is that his fights are always entertaining. Loud, too, from his boisterous compatriots filling up whatever building he sells out.
Neither was the case in his New York sendoff, however. Before traveling back to Ireland for his next couple of bouts, Duddy was uncoordinated and unfocused in the Main Event of Irish Ropes’ “Tomorrow’s Champions” card in front of 2,300 at the Beacon Theatre on the Upper West Side. He earned a 10-round unanimous decision over Dupre “Total Package” Strickland (18-2, 7 KOs), but it was one of his least auspicious performances.
“I’m happy to get the rounds in, I’m happy to get the experience,” he said. “But I’m not very pleased with this performance.
After dropping the Slidell, Louisiana native with a pair of left hooks in the opening round, Duddy (20-0 with 15 KOs) lacked the usual zip and pop to his punches. He walked into one straight right hand in the third round that opened up a cut over his right eye - a gash that would need five stitches afterward - but he spent the rest of the bout waiting for the one haymaker that could end the fight early instead of landing his usual flurry of combinations.
“I was headhunting a little bit too much,” he said. “I was throwing one punch at a time.”
Duddy, his trainer, Harry Keitt, and manager, Eddie McLaughlin, all criticized the performance. Keitt felt his fighter’s head was not into the fight because too many hangers-on were causing a distraction, coupled with the increased publicity Duddy has received in recent months. “He had a lot of things going on his mind with this fight; his mind wasn’t on the fight,” Keitt said. “John fought like he didn’t want to be there. He’s been going through some stuff right now.”
The Derry, Ireland fighter agreed the fight was sub par; he even apologized to Keitt during the fight at one point. They also said the moving around - Duddy trained at three different locations - had an effect. “I wasn’t settled,” Duddy said.
Still, he remained unbeaten and won every round. Now it is on to Ireland for a July 7 fight at the National Stadium in Dublin followed by a possible shot at the European Championship before returning to the states in early 2008. Before that time comes, Duddy knows he must get better, has to improve his focus. “This is just another learning experience for me,” he said.