McGuigan wants to work with Duddy

BARRY McGUIGAN has reached a hand out to rising Irish middleweight John Duddy to help the Derryman achieve his goal of a world title.

McGuigan was ringside at the Madison Square Garden’s Theatre last Friday night as Duddy took his professional record to 19-0 with a technical decision victory over American Anthony Bonsante.

Victory moved Duddy closer to a shot at champion Jermain Taylor. McGuigan, however, believes Duddy needs at least another year to prepare for a title challenge and said: “I’d love to work with John, I really would. I just see so much of me in him.”

On the fight McGuigan said: “Duddy was as ever very exciting, very impressive, defensively much better for the first four or five rounds. Then he started to get tired and a bit impatient, hung his chin out a few times and I don’t like that. He didn’t need to do that because he’s a much better fighter than that.

“He fights with intensity, with passion and punches tremendously. Sometimes he gets too close and nullifies his power but I really think he’s a very exciting kid.

“He’s knocking on the door, top 10, now, but it’s a very hot division, very tough, but give him a year and he’ll be a different fighter.

“He can’t hide behind his aggression because he can box defensively and can do all this moving around but then suddenly he gets hit and goes back to fighting, it’s the way he fights. With that in mind you’ve got to try and mould him. When he moves his head he’s great, when he moves underneath the right hand, he’s great. He doesn’t do it often enough.

“He jabs, he steps in, he throws a great left hook; his left hook off the jab is a dynamite punch, but Bonsante spent most of the fight with his hands up (protecting his head) and it’s very difficult to prise open that defence. But overall, Duddy was very impressive.

“He switched off a couple of rounds and got caught with unnecessary punches but it’s like pushing water uphill, it’s always going to be a struggle for him because he fights so offensively. He’s like me, I couldn’t have been a negative boxer. The bell would go and I was on you like a rash and that’s the way it’s got to be with him.’’