Duddy caught off guard by SmichetBy Neil McDaid
February 23, 2008 - Madison Square Garden, New York - In the weeks leading up to John Duddy’s scheduled bout on the undercard of the Klitschko vs Ibragimov unification title fight, there was very little, if any, press on John’s opponent Tunisia native Walid Smichet. The pre-fight hype was more focused towards the potential opportunity for Duddy to get a shot at the middleweight world title in June against the reigning champion, Kelly Pavlik. Although John insisted in pre-fight interviews that he was not thinking about the opportunity to fight Pavlik until he got past Smichet, it would seem that the Duddy camp underestimated the threat that the Canadian based Smichet might pose when they made this match.
Stepping into the ring Duddy definitely looked the better conditioned fighter. But, an explosion of powerful combinations by Smichet in the first round rocked Duddy’s world. At one point John stood in the middle of the ring, gloves by his side, unable to answer the barrage of shots to his head. Smichet (17-4-3, 13 Kos) landed 52 of 108 punches in the first according to CompuBox. It was a miracle that Duddy survived the first round without hitting the canvas.
Duddy came out on the attack in the second, backing up Smichet. However, he soon became the hunted as Walid would again unleash a few powerful shots. Duddy’s cut man, big George Mitchell, was kept busy between rounds trying to stop the flow of blood from a horrendous cut on his fighters left eye. As John sat in his corner, blood spewing from his eye, you almost expected him to call out, “Adrian, Adrian” as this was like a scene from a Rocky movie. But there was no fiction here. John had to continue his fighter’s heart and the toughness of his chin would be tested on this night.
Duddy would again be rocked hard in the forth, but he somehow managed to hang in. The battle continued through the fifth, toe to toe around the ring, never more than a few feet apart. It was obvious that Smichet had studied his opponent well and worked on John’s weakness often. One would have to think that Smichet was in command after five. With his passionate legion of supporters chanting, “John-ny, John-ny”, Duddy’s superior fitness would start to show over his opponent.
Although still dangerous, Smichet seemed to slow as the rounds wore on. Working his jab a little more late in the rounds, Duddy would manage to land a couple of flush shots to the head of Smichet. As the seconds ticked away in the tenth Duddy seemed to stay clear of his opponent. This provoked Smichet to gesture with open arms, as if to say, “come on, let’s fight.” This was definitely not what the Duddy camp had in mind heading into Madison Square Garden. It was merely supposed to be a warm-up fight to a title shot, appositive showing in front of HBO.
Despite one of the poorest performances from Duddy to date he would somehow manage to eke out a victory on the judges’ cards, One judge scored the bout a 95-95 draw, while the other two saw it 98-92 in favor of the Derry man. After the fight John commented, “It wasn't my greatest performance, my timing was off. I was trying too hard to impress tonight. I was far from perfect. I wasn't letting my hands work for me. I trained a lot better than my performance but it's another learning curve fight for me."
Clearly unhappy with the judges’ decision Smichet said, "Look at my face, look at his, and you tell me who won.” He continued, "I thought it was close, but I thought I had the edge. I hit him with better punches."
The horrendous cut on Duddy’s eye has put the June title fight with Pavlik on the back burner according to Pavlik’s promoter Bob Arum after the fight.
"It's silly to force the fight," said Arum, who still wants Pavlik to fight in June. "You don't know if (Duddy) is going to fight or not fight. ... But Kelly's going to fight three times this year so we'll do it down the road."
After Duddy’s performance on this night one has to ponder is John really ready to challenge for the title anytime soon. This upset for Duddy might very well open the door for fellow Irish boxer Andy Lee to step into the title scene.
February 23, 2008 - Madison Square Garden, New York - In the weeks leading up to John Duddy’s scheduled bout on the undercard of the Klitschko vs Ibragimov unification title fight, there was very little, if any, press on John’s opponent Tunisia native Walid Smichet. The pre-fight hype was more focused towards the potential opportunity for Duddy to get a shot at the middleweight world title in June against the reigning champion, Kelly Pavlik. Although John insisted in pre-fight interviews that he was not thinking about the opportunity to fight Pavlik until he got past Smichet, it would seem that the Duddy camp underestimated the threat that the Canadian based Smichet might pose when they made this match.
Stepping into the ring Duddy definitely looked the better conditioned fighter. But, an explosion of powerful combinations by Smichet in the first round rocked Duddy’s world. At one point John stood in the middle of the ring, gloves by his side, unable to answer the barrage of shots to his head. Smichet (17-4-3, 13 Kos) landed 52 of 108 punches in the first according to CompuBox. It was a miracle that Duddy survived the first round without hitting the canvas.
Duddy came out on the attack in the second, backing up Smichet. However, he soon became the hunted as Walid would again unleash a few powerful shots. Duddy’s cut man, big George Mitchell, was kept busy between rounds trying to stop the flow of blood from a horrendous cut on his fighters left eye. As John sat in his corner, blood spewing from his eye, you almost expected him to call out, “Adrian, Adrian” as this was like a scene from a Rocky movie. But there was no fiction here. John had to continue his fighter’s heart and the toughness of his chin would be tested on this night.
Duddy would again be rocked hard in the forth, but he somehow managed to hang in. The battle continued through the fifth, toe to toe around the ring, never more than a few feet apart. It was obvious that Smichet had studied his opponent well and worked on John’s weakness often. One would have to think that Smichet was in command after five. With his passionate legion of supporters chanting, “John-ny, John-ny”, Duddy’s superior fitness would start to show over his opponent.
Although still dangerous, Smichet seemed to slow as the rounds wore on. Working his jab a little more late in the rounds, Duddy would manage to land a couple of flush shots to the head of Smichet. As the seconds ticked away in the tenth Duddy seemed to stay clear of his opponent. This provoked Smichet to gesture with open arms, as if to say, “come on, let’s fight.” This was definitely not what the Duddy camp had in mind heading into Madison Square Garden. It was merely supposed to be a warm-up fight to a title shot, appositive showing in front of HBO.
Despite one of the poorest performances from Duddy to date he would somehow manage to eke out a victory on the judges’ cards, One judge scored the bout a 95-95 draw, while the other two saw it 98-92 in favor of the Derry man. After the fight John commented, “It wasn't my greatest performance, my timing was off. I was trying too hard to impress tonight. I was far from perfect. I wasn't letting my hands work for me. I trained a lot better than my performance but it's another learning curve fight for me."
Clearly unhappy with the judges’ decision Smichet said, "Look at my face, look at his, and you tell me who won.” He continued, "I thought it was close, but I thought I had the edge. I hit him with better punches."
The horrendous cut on Duddy’s eye has put the June title fight with Pavlik on the back burner according to Pavlik’s promoter Bob Arum after the fight.
"It's silly to force the fight," said Arum, who still wants Pavlik to fight in June. "You don't know if (Duddy) is going to fight or not fight. ... But Kelly's going to fight three times this year so we'll do it down the road."
After Duddy’s performance on this night one has to ponder is John really ready to challenge for the title anytime soon. This upset for Duddy might very well open the door for fellow Irish boxer Andy Lee to step into the title scene.
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