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The John Duddy Fight of the Year – The Irish-Boxing.com Awards 2019


Nothing beats a good fight and there have been plenty of wars this year involving Irish boxers.

They mightn’t have always won but they always played their parts in occasions of sporting theatre that are unrivalled.

Below we recognise our best SIX fights of the year.

This award is named after the Derry Destroyer John Duddy who was involved in many wars and Fight of the Years during his career.

Fight of the Year

TJ Doheny v Danny Roman
This super bantamweight unification swung both ways. Doheny found himself floored twice but had Roman hurt too. Eventually, though, the Portlaoise puncher was denied on a close decision.

Paul McCullagh v Tommy Hyde
Having met in the 2019 Elite semis, with Hyde emerging victorious after a cagey contest, the young light heavyweight locked horns again in the 2020 quarters. This time it was an all-out brawl and McCullagh took the win.

Katie Taylor v Delfine Persoon
The consensus greatest women’s fight of all time, Taylor edged a narrow majority decision in New York, coming through a hellacious onslaught from her Belgian foe.

James Tennyson v Craig Evans
The Belfast KO artist had Evans down early in their British lightweight title final eliminator but the Welshman would fight back strongly – only for Tenny to close the show in the eleventh.

Staz Tomasevski v Oisin O’Donovan
Two cruiserweight debutants in a messy brawl. The skill levels may not have been elite but the heart shown and the excitement provided was second to none.

Steven Ward v Liam Conroy
Both hurt, blood everywhere, Ward down twice, this was a modern Ulster Hall classic. Eventually halted in the eighth, it was the Irishman that edged it on the cards to pick up the WBO European title.

[yop_poll id=”16″]

You can vote in the earlier polls below:

The Andy Lee KO of the Year

Moment of the Year

The Eamonn Magee Jr Prospect of the Year

Breakthrough of the Year

The Micky Ward Round of the Year

The Sideline Films Club of the Year

Comeback of the Year

The Patrick Hyland Sr Trainer of the Year

The Kevin Sheehy Young Boxer of the Year

The Wayne McCullough Performance of the Year

The Alejandro Gonzalez Jr Opponent of the Year

The Sean Mannion Gallant Defeat of the Year

Pro Debut of the Year

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Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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