Exclusive Interview: John Duddy

Main Event Boxing Series will host their latest installment on Friday, April 24 live from The Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey with middleweight contender “Ireland’s” John Duddy, 26-0 (17), stepping into the ring against Billy Lyell, 18-7 (3).

Although the doors open at 8:00 PM, the fans will be treated to a multi-ethnic festival that begins at 6:00 PM at Entry Plaza, at the corner of Mulberry and Edison Streets. The Fan Festival will include Irish music and dancers, food and access to meet some of the fighters. The entertainment will continue throughout the night with the Irish bagpipe band “The Shots” performing throughout the evening.

SaddoBoxing had the opportunity to speak with John Duddy in an exclusive phone interview to discuss his upcoming bout.

SaddoBoxing: This Friday you will be stepping into the ring at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ against Billy Lyell; how was your training camp in preparation for the fight?

John Duddy: “Training camp went great; I had a short time between camps. Me and Patrick started where we left off after our last fight, we have been working hard on a lot of things leading up to this fight and we are just looking forward to fighting.”

SB: I believe this is your third fight with Pat Burns; how is your working relationship?

JD: “Oh, it’s great. Pat likes pushing hard and he never leaves a stone unturned. He’s always working on improving my strengths and correcting my weaknesses. I really enjoy my time with him when he’s pushing me as hard as he can.”

SB: What do you feel are some of the positive changes he has made in your style?

JD: “I just think he has more belief in some of my assets where I haven’t focused on before with the likes of my jab and my footwork. I can box a little and move and I don’t have to be an all-out slugger the whole time I fight. He’s brought me back to that side of the game again. I’m enjoying it, but we are still working on sitting on our shots and then making sure that whenever the opportunity arises that we are prepared to take full advantage of it and put it all together.”

SB: Did the two of you work on anything specific to prepare for Billy Lyell?

JD: “No, but what I like about Patrick is that he works on everything with me all the time. Like I mentioned, he is always improving my strengths and correcting my weaknesses. That’s what I like about him everyday it’s always a medley in front of a lesson.”

SB: How much do you know about your upcoming opponent? Have you seen any of his fights?

JD: “Yes, I’ve seen a few of fights. He is from a good stable. He comes 110% mentally and physically, so I’m expecting a tough fight on Friday night.”

SB: What can your fans expect from this fight?

JD: “Hopefully they will see an all out exciting spectacle, you know what I mean. Hopefully a more polished performance, I enjoyed my last time out in the ring and I think I caught everybody by surprise with the fact that that I can be a boxer and hopefully I’m going to be improving that performance and keeping the fans entertained.”

SB: This will be your second fight this year which is already as much as your total fights in 2008, how active do you hope to stay?

JD: “As active as possible. Hopefully, I stay free from injury and healthy after each fight. I have to keep working and the only way to keep progressive and moving in this sport is to keep active in the ring and in the fights. You can train all day and all year but if your not fighting you can’t keep improving. I would like to stay as active as I possibly can.”

SB: Have you made any progress or resolution with your promotional problems of the past?

JD: “The fact that I’m fighting is a plus for me. As long as I’m able to get in the ring and keep fighting and keep progressing, for me I’m already moving forward.”

SB: Are you working with Main Events specifically for this one event or do you have plans with them in the future?

JD: “At the moment, I’m on a fight by fight deal. The Prudential Center seems to be shaping up to be a good card, there seems to be a lot of interest. Main Events has treated me well, but Top Rank treated me well also in February. For me personally, I just want to keep active, keep fighting and keep moving forward.”

SB: What events would need to happen for you this year for it to be a break out year for John Duddy?

JD: “I think the main factor is that I just have to keep winning my fights.”

SB: Your name seems to come up a lot with a lot of other fighters; a possible fight with Julio Chavez Jr, Kelly Pavlik and even Peter Manfredo is calling you out after his victory against a common opponent, Walid Smichet. Who would you like to face?

JD: “As long as everybody wants to fight me, I’m happy days. I don’t need to go looking for anyone to fight me they can all try and come to beat me. As long as I stay fit and healthy, I’ll have plenty of opponents looking to fight me.”

SB: Speaking of Walid Smichet, that seemed to be tough fight with you taking some punishment in the early rounds and getting some bad cuts; is that what cost you a title shot at Kelly Pavlik?

JD: “That’s what I was led to believe, that’s what I was told. As far as I was concerned, there was no Kelly Pavlik fight deal done. As you said, my name has been talked about along with a lot of other fighters. For me, I only look at who comes next and for me, it’s Billy Lyell and anything that supposedly happens after Billy Lyell at the moment, I couldn’t care less because it doesn’t matter. I have to take care of my business and Friday the 24th, I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”

SB: While we are talking about some of your previous fights I’m curious, what do you feel has been your best performance in the ring to date?

JD: “I think one of my best performances would probably have been the Howard Eastman fight and also my last fight with Matt Vanda, for the pure fact to show that I’m not just a brawler. But I think the Howard Eastman fight was the best fight for me when I fought back home in Ireland .

SB: Anything you would like to say to your fans while you have the opportunity?

JD: “I would like to thank them for their continued support. I’m just going to keep working hard and hopefully keep them entertained in the fight nights that are coming up in the future. I’m looking forward to seeing them all again, have a drink and have a good time.”

SB: Thank you for your time and best of luck on Friday.

JD: “Thank you very much; it was a pleasure talking to you.”