Ringside Boxing Report: John Duddy – Anthony Bonsante
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St. Patrick’s Day weekend began with a great evening of entertainment at Madison Square Garden in New York City . I chose my word “entertainment†specifically because from beginning to end, Irish Ropes Promotions put on a night to remember.
The sold out crowd of 5,500 fans entered the Theatre at Madison Square Garden to a live band playing Irish music which continued in-between bouts throughout the evening. As the pro-Irish crowd filled the arena, they joined the band singing along at the top of their lungs. They even had Irish dancers perform in the ring, keeping the crowd cheering before the live Pay Per View broadcast began.
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The broadcast would open with a scheduled six round, super middleweight bout featuring rising prospect “Irish†Andy Lee. Lee, now 8-0 (5) only needed three rounds to stop veteran Carl Daniels 49-11-1 (31). Lee was dominant throughout the fight and came on strong in the third round, landing a solid right hook which sent Daniels to the canvas. Daniels remained flattened on the canvas well beyond a 10 count, awarding Lee with a KO victory at 2.36 of the round.
The co-feature also ended in the third frame of a scheduled 10 round bout, declaring undefeated middleweight Giovanni Lorenzo, 23-0 (15), a winner by TKO. Lorenzo faced an overmatched Robert Kamya, 15-7 (4), who was dropped in the first and twice in the third before the referee stopped the bout at 2.38 of the round.
The main event featured fan favorite “ Ireland’s†John Duddy, defending his IBA World/WBC Continental Middleweight titles against Contender Season One star Anthony “The Bullet†Bonsante. The build up to the main event could be measured in decibels as the crowd gradually cheered louder and louder in anticipation. Duddy would enter the ring led by a bagpiper that could hardly be heard over the cheers from the crowd.
Duddy dominated the fight early using his jab and following up with left hooks. Bonsante would suffer a bad cut on his forehead in the fourth round from an accidental headbutt. Duddy continued his assault, continually beating Bonsante to the punch through the seventh round. The electricity of the crowd could be felt as they cheered louder and louder; it was amazing to even see an old woman well into her 70’s cheering “C’mon Johnny, you can do it!â€
Bonsante came out for the eighth round with a sense of desperation after his cut was examined by the ringside doctor and he continued to bleed. He would back up Duddy in the round with wide punches and uppercuts, which were all taken well by the defending champion. They would continue to trade punches in the ninth round with blood streaming from Bonsante’s forehead, causing him to continually wipe his eyes to try and clear his vision.
The referee would stop the bout at the end of the ninth round, due to the cut caused by the accidental headbutt, sending the decision to the scorecards. Duddy improved to 19-0 (16), receiving a unanimous decision on all three card with scores of 90-81, 89-82 and 88-83 while Bonsante dropped to 29-9-3 (17).
The evening entitled “Erin Go Brawl†was a victory for both Duddy and his promoter Irish Ropes. Duddy put on a strong performance, retained his titles and added to his unbeaten record. Irish Ropes was able to accomplish what many other promoters lose sight of, which is to be able to give the fans what they want; an exciting atmosphere with a night of entertainment.