Duddy promises vintage year
22 January 2010 – By Cormac Campbell
Irish middleweight star John Duddy, 27-1 (17KO) has told irish-boxing.com that he is hoping to give Irish boxing fans something to cheer about in 2010.
On Saturday night at Madison Square Garden the Derryman squares off with Mexican-American Juan Astorga, 14-3-1 (9KO), with dreams of a World title clash with Kelly Pavlik at the forefront of his mind. Duddy goes into the fight as a heavy betting favourite, but has conceded that winning and looking good in doing so is crucial to his future plans.
If I don’t win then I’m beat, he said. And nobody likes to get beat. Im working with Harry Keit again and training has gone well.
As one of Irelands three world class middleweight stars rumours have abounded that Duddy could face Andy Lee or Matthew Macklin later this year. However, at this stage, Duddy is thinking only of Juan Astorga.
I don’t know, he said of striking a deal on the above contests.
I have to win this fight first!
The fan favourite also had a message of support for his fans, who have helped make him one of the most popular stars in world boxing.
I would like to thank them for their support, he said.
I’m looking forward to a good year of boxing – and hope to give them something to cheer about.
Duddy vs Astorga takes place on the undercard of Top Rank promoter Bob Arums featherweight title double header of Yuriorkis Gamboa vs Rogers Mtagwa and Juan Manuel Lopez vs Steven Luevano.
