Boxing News Boxing News
IBA and WBC Continental Americas middleweight champion Duddy (20-0, 15 KOs), now living and fighting out of Queens (NY), is a native of Derry City, Northern Ireland. Duddy’s first pro fight in Ireland will headline “The Homecoming” in a 10-round bout against Alessio Furlan (19-8-5, 8 KOs), of Italy.
Furlan, former IBF Mediterraneo light middleweight title-holder, in March extended recently crowned European middleweight champion Sebastian Sylvester to the 12th round of their WBA Inter-Continental championship match in Germany.
Duddy is rated No. 6 by the WBO, as well as No. 9 by the WBA, No. 10 by the IBF and No. 11 by the WBC.
“John’s going to put on a great show fighting in Ireland for the first time as a pro,” Integrated Sports president Doug Jacobs said. “The middleweight division is the hottest in boxing and John is one of its brightest young stars. He’s built a tremendous fan base in the U.S. and we want to give them an opportunity to watch Duddy’s July 14th fight live from Dublin.
“If everything goes as planned, John’s next two or three fights will be over there, culminating with a European title bout, and we plan to broadcast all of them back to his growing legion of fans in America. With each fight his popularity grows and we want to be the vehicle for his fans to watch him develop into a world champion.”
“The Homecoming,” featuring unbeaten middleweight sensation “Ireland’s” John Duddy, will be broadcast live July 14 in the United States on cable pay-per-view starting at 5:00 PM/ET, 2:00 PM/PT from Dublin, Ireland. The event is being produced by RTE and distributed for pay-per-view by Integrated Sports and will be available via iN Demand, DirecTV and TVN for a suggested retail price of only $19.95 including other bouts on the Irish card. “The Homecoming” will also be available via Closed Circuit throughout the United States.
