Duddy ‘two fights’ from world title bid

UNBEATEN Derryman John Duddy appears to be just two fights away from the fight of his dreams — a world title showdown with the new poster boy of the middleweight division, Kelly Pavlik, Brian Peters said yesterday.

Duddy tackles former world title challenger Noe Tulio Gonzalez Alcoba at the Hunky Dorys Fight Night at the National Stadium on October 20 before another planned outing at the Kings Hall, Belfast on December 8.

Two wins before the end of the year would set Duddy up for a crack at Pavlik’s newly-won WBC and WBO world titles next March.

That bout looks destined for Las Vegas with New York’s Madison Square Garden unavailable for the dates being discussed for a Duddy-Pavlik showdown.

However before Duddy can even think about Pavlik he will have to negotiate two formidable obstacles on this side of the Atlantic starting with his bout against Gonzalez Alcoba tomorrow night week at the National Stadium.

Duddy’s promoter Eddie McLoughlin admitted yesterday that it was tempting to get carried away by all the talk about Pavlik.

“But it won’t count for anything unless we get past this fight in Dublin,” he said. “Then, all going well, John will box at the legendary Kings Hall in Belfast on December 8 before we turn our attention to Pavlik in the New Year.”

McLoughlin confirmed that a St Patrick’s weekend showdown with Pavlik is now more likely to take place in Las Vegas rather than New York with Madison Square Garden’s diary already full for that weekend.

McLoughlin continued, “John doesn’t have the luxury of looking beyond his next fight but obviously we need to have long-term plans in place for him and the December 8 date at the Kings Hall would set us up perfectly for a world title fight in the New Year.”

Promoter Brian Peters says he would be delighted to showcase the exciting Duddy in front of Belfast fight fans. “It would be great to put John on in the Kings Hall.

“Everybody knows about the famous McGuigan nights there in the 80s and I think a Duddy can recapture some of that magic.”

Meanwhile, the Irish world championship boxing team returns from their training camp in Frankfurt today.

As well as training with the Germans they were also joined by the Russian and Bulgarian world championship teams en route to Chicago.

The 11-man Irish team are scheduled to leave for Chicago on Tuesday with the championships beginning on October 23 and ending on November 3.