Borough’s rising stars set for Garden tussle

John Duddy and Joe Greene will not be the main attractions at Madison Square Garden Saturday evening, but the two Queens prospects can enhance their status with impressive performances on the HBO undercard.
Particularly Duddy, who has won his last three fights in his native Ireland. In his first bout in the states since last May, he will take on Tunisian brawler Walid “Tempete de Sable” Smichet (17-3-1, 13 KOs) in the 10-round, off-TV co-feature on the heavyweight championship unification show headlined by IBF king Wladimir Klitschko and WBO title-holder Sultan Ibragimov at MSG.
Ranked No. 3 by the WBO and WBC, Duddy (23-0, 17 KOs) is eyeing a possible showdown with world middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik this June after the Ohio slugger defending his WBO and WBC titles against Jermain Tayor in Las Vegas Saturday night.
“It’s my homecoming,” Duddy said. “It was great fighting in Ireland the past year, but I’m really looking forward to being back where I started my pro career with all those great fans. Most importantly, though, I think I have shown improvement in my last three fights, although a lot was just simple things we worked on. [His trainer] Don [Turner] has me boxing like I did before (as an amateur).”
Greene (17-0, 12 KOs), meanwhile, hopes to bounce back from his last victory, a sub par decision over Patrick Thompson (12-12, 5 KOs). In his fourth fight since joining the Seminole Warriors Boxing label, the Jamaica native will meet well-traveled veteran Francisco Antonio Mora (52-12, 35 KOs) of Argentina.