Nothing Confirmed for Duddy

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Irish Voice Sport

Nothing Confirmed for Duddy

July 10, 2008

By Declan O’Kelly

JOHN Duddy’s quest to fight Verno Phillips (42-10-1) this fall for the IBF light middleweight title continues apace, though no date or venue has been confirmed yet.

“Everyone had a three or four day weekend and

are just back today. Negotiations have been going well and we are shopping it (the fight) around for TV interest,” Eddie McLoughlin of Irish Ropes told the Irish Voice Monday.

The Odyssey Arena in Belfast could play host to the 154-pound title fight. “Art Pelullo has put a few tentative holds on a couple of dates at the venue,” continued McLoughlin, reiterating that it was the Banner Promotions representative who was marketing the Phillips/Duddy package to the TV networks to gauge both interest and availability. However, Belfast is but one of the options being looked at as a possible venue for the fight.

While the talks with Banner Promotions have been going well, McLoughlin and Irish Ropes matchmaker Jim Borzell have accepted an invitation from the promoters of WBA light middleweight champion Joachim Alcine (30-0,19 KOs) to visit Montréal this Friday night to watch the 32-year-old champion’s title defense against Daniel Santos (31-3-1).

Irish Ropes and GYM (Groupe Yvon Michel) have already worked together in the past, as Michel also manages Walid Smichet, who gave Duddy (25-0,17 KOs) a torrid test on February 23 at Madison Square Garden.

“They asked us up to Canada and invited us to go to the fight, so we are heading up this week. We’ll go there, meet and break some bread together and take in the fight,” said McLoughlin, adding that GYM were easy to work with putting the Smichet /Duddy fight together earlier in the year.

The boxing world has been abuzz since Duddy signaled his intentions to campaign at 154 pounds, and there have been no shortage of suitors wishing to take on the soon to be light middleweight Derry native.

One of them is new Irish light middleweight champion Jamie Moore (30-3, 21 KOs) (not to be confused with New-York based James Moore), who tko’ed Ciaran Healy in round three for the title last weekend in Tallaght.

Moore, a former British and Commonwealth Champion whose mother hails from Kilkenny, told Irish press that if both boxers keep winning, (Moore fights for the European title next European title and Duddy for the world title) that their meeting would be a treat for the fans.

In other news, super bantamweight Bernard Dunne (24-1, 14 KOs) is back in the ring this Saturday night against Damian Marchiano (15-4-1, 5 KOs) at the National Stadium in Dublin. The two will fight 10 rounds at a catchweight two pounds above the super bantamweight limit.

Dunne hopes another win can get him closer to a fight with European title holder Rendall Munroe.

“I want my old title back,” said Dunne ahead of the fight. “I hear Munroe’s not all that keen on giving me an opportunity so we might have to just try and force his hand by waiting for the EBU to make me his mandatory challenger.”

Other highlights on the card include the Irish lightweight title fight between champion Peter McDonagh and Andy Murray. Also featuring is Jim Rock, who will try to become a four weight Irish champion when he takes on Jonjo Finnegan for the light heavyweight title.

Oisin Fagan (21-5) will take on Latvian Konstatntin Sakara (1-2-1). According to boxrec.com, Fagan is scheduled to fight Verquan Kimbrough (20-1) on August 28 in West Virginia.

The rematch is something that Fagan has been craving since a hotly disputed split decision loss to Kimbrough on December 30 for the USBA lightweight title.

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