RSS
Sport


Home Page > Sport > Duddy ready for Lyell fight

Duddy ready for Lyell fight

By
DECLAN O'KELLY,
Published Wednesday, April 22, 2009, 12:24 PM
Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 5:28 PM

print this article Print
email this articleE-mail
comment on article Make a comment
 

John Duddy


Unbeaten middleweight John Duddy (26-0, 17 KOs) will make his pro boxing debut in New Jersey this Friday night when he fights Billy Lyell (18-7, 3 KOs) at the Prudential Center in Newark.

The Derry native got back into New York on Monday night after a five-week camp in Miami with trainer Pat Burns.

Standing in the opposite corner is Ohio native Billy Lyell, who is trained by Jack Lowe, the same man who has steered Kelly Pavlik to the WBO/WBC middleweight titles.

With an 18-7 record, the 24-year-old Lyell has a bit of mileage on the clock, and only three knockout victories in his career suggest that Duddy's chin should not be tested too much on April 24.
 
“Billy Lyell is a tough fighter. He comes from a good stable and if he does his work the way Kelly Pavlik does his, then he is a going to be a tough opponent and a fearsome competitor,” said Duddy ahead of the fight.
 
“The Prudential is a brand new arena, and it is a beautiful venue. I am looking forward to headlining there and giving the fans a chance to see me in action, and getting a step closer to hopefully the title shot that I am looking for.”
 
Lyell is coming off a defeat to Vanes Martirosyan on February 7 and is 5-5 for his last 10 fights. The most recognizable names on his ledger are defeats to Luis Ramon Campas by UD in June 2007, a TKO loss to Charles Whittaker in September 2006 and a TKO loss to James Kirkland in February 2002.
 
Duddy’s training partner Mark Calhoun was happy with how the training camp went when he spoke to IrishCentral on Monday.
 
“Everything went 100% to plan and we are looking forward to getting up to New York for the fight,” he said, adding that Duddy sparred with Antwone Smith while in Miami and was well prepared for Friday night’s challenge.
 
Irishcentral caught up with Duddy’s advisor Craig Hamilton on Monday to get his thoughts before fight night. 
 
“I feel that John is going to build off his last fight, and we expect to see him do many of the things he did in the Vanda fight, only do it better,” he said.
 
For the past few weeks former Contender star and super middleweight world title challenger Peter Manfredo Junior has been telling all and sundry that he wants to come down to the middleweight division and fight Duddy.
 
The Pride of Providence, who plans to attend the fight on Friday, knocked out former Duddy opponent Walid Smichet on Saturday night in the seventh round and again expressed his desire to fight the Irishman afterwards. Hamilton was a bit perplexed about this game plan.
 
“The last thing I heard about Peter Manfredo is that he retired and now he is fighting again and he is calling John out. I don’t even follow it, as he is not a title holder and he is not even in John’s weight,” said Hamilton.
 
“It’s not that he doesn't hold any interest, but we are moving John in an upward direction, not laterally or any other way. We are trying to get John a shot at a championship. 
 
“I am not quite sure what Peter Manfredo and his people are thinking here. He fought for a title when he fought Joe Calzaghe, and I don’t remember him challenging John Duddy, so I am not sure what they are getting at.”
 
Hamilton went on to add that they take all prospective opponents seriously, but that he would have thought Manfredo’s people would be trying to do what Duddy’s are ­– aiming to get their man a shot at a world title.
 
“What we are hoping to see from John would be more head motion and more combinations, more power combinations and more of the things he is doing. I think we will see an improved John as he works very hard,” said Hamilton.
 
The co-feature event will see former world champion Kassim Ouma (26-5)  take on Gabriel Rosado (11-3) in a 10 round light middleweight contest.  The latter's name may be familiar to Irish fans as the Philly fighter who handed James Moore his first professional defeat in June 2008.

1 2 Next page >
​
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail


Comment

Be the first to make a comment.





Connect to IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or Sign-Up directly

Already Registered? Sign-In!

Welcome to IrishCentral!
Please provide the following information in order to create your account

Username:
E-Mail Address:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy


Already Registered? Sign-In!
Forgot my password

Welcome to IrishCentral!
All we need is the following information and you will be part of the #1 Irish community in the US

E-Mail Address:
First select a unique username:
Username:
Now choose a password:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Thank you!

Just one more step and you will be part of the largest Irish community in America! Tell us a little more about you to start enjoying all the features of IrishCentral.

Additional Information:

First Name:
Last Name:
Date of Birth:
Zip:
Gender: Male  Female 
Country:
Degree of Irishness:
Household Income:
Level of Education:

Subscribe to our newsletters:

The Best of IrishCentral - Daily Newsletter
Special Offers from our sponsors

or
Skip

You can edit your information at any time, just go to "my account" when you're logged in.

Log into IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or sign-in directly

E-Mail:
Password:
 Remember me Forgot my password
Not a member? Register Now!
submit to reddit
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail