| Duddy Jabs His Way to Win
By Declan O’Kelly
On the undercard to the Cotto/Malinaggi world title bout, John Duddy
faced his sternest test June 10 against Freddy Cuevas and once again answered
with a resounding victory in the seventh round.
The atmosphere in Madison Square Garden was like a football match with
“Olé, Olé” and “The Fields of Athenry”
the soundtracks to Duddy’s most notable win to date. Entering the
ring to a lone piper playing “A Nation Once Again,” Duddy
looked in incredible shape, thanks to a grueling pre-fight training camp
in the Poconos.
He was extremely patient and used his jab throughout to devastating effect.
In the first round Cuevas traded well with Duddy and it looked like the
Derryman might have a real battle on his hands. However, as the fight
progressed two things became apparent. Cuevas seemed much lighter and
smaller than Duddy, and none of his shots were hurting the man with the
green gloves. “I was happy for him to set the pace because I knew
I could up the gear at any time,” Duddy told ringside media after
the fight.
After taking a few rounds to scope out the opposition, Duddy soon completely
took over and despite the excellent movement of the wily veteran American
Cuevas, the Irishman began to inflict a lot of punishment on his target
with precise jabs and fluent combinations, eventually breaking his opponent’s
nose. When Cuevas did not emerge for the eighth round the fight was over,
capping off a good night’s work for Team Duddy. |
