| The Boxer By Marilyn Cole Lownes
A young Derry man follows his dream to be champion. Story by Marilyn
Cole Lownes.
Looking out of a window of the famed Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, John
Duddy’s fresh young face lights up with sheer delight at even the sight
of a blinding blizzard in early March 2005. Unperturbed, the 25-year-old
fighter from Ireland says, “From the moment I arrived in New York I felt
right at home here.”
It was in March 2003 that the middleweight boxer left his family back
home in Derry to come to America to follow his dream. Today, surrounded
by signed photos of boxers including his idol, Muhammad Ali, Duddy, whose
boxing record stands at eight knockouts in eight pro fights, is here at
Gleason’s to train for his March 18 fight at the Mohegan Sun Casino against
Leonard Pierre. Trained by Kevin Rooney, one of Mike Tyson’s former trainers,
Pierre, with a record of 16 wins and no losses with 11 knockouts, is Duddy’s
toughest opponent to date.
Duddy exercises his neck by standing on his head in a corner of the boxing
ring, supporting himself by holding onto the ropes on either side, whilst
twisting and turning his head.
Looking on, Duddy’s trainer, Harry Keitt, expounds, “This next fight
is a step up for John. John is taking the challenge because he wants to
test the person he is. He has such good spirit and is so very focused on
what he is trying to do. He’s very humble, not high on himself and he believes
in me so he does what I tell him. He may not be the most skilled of fighters
but he is the most determined and hardworking.
“He has come here from Ireland for a reason – to be a champion. You’ll
have to kill him to beat him.”
After his strenuous workout, Duddy wipes the sweat from his face. His
head and neck look quite large and thick on his frame; his square jaw and
high cheekbones give his face a sculpted look like you see in Greek and
Roman statues.
Gleason’s is buzzing, in part because of the publicity in the media citing
the gym as where Hilary Swank trained for her Oscar-winning performance
in Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby, but also because of it’s long history
as the training ground for champions.
“I love everything about boxing gyms.” Duddy is passionate. “It’s the
smell of leather mixed with sweat and the sound of the gloves hitting the
punching bags that reminds me of all the hard work and all the dreams that
get left on the floor.”
A wide grin breaks out on Duddy’s face as he recalls, “I remember the
times back in our house in Derry when I would go home from the gym and put
my gym clothes on the radiator to dry. My mum would yell at me to ‘put the
stinking bag outside.’
“I would laugh and tell her, ‘That’s the smell of success, Ma.’”
Duddy’s passion for boxing began at the age of five watching his father
train as club fighter back in the early ’80’s. “When my dad used to take
me with him to the gym, I started having some fun myself and started training
when I was five years old.” He smiles. “I had my first fight when I was
seven. They made me wear some really big shoes. They put me in the ring
against a twelve-year-old lad and after the first round he quit.
“I’ll never forget that feeling when they held my hand up. I was the
center of attention and I loved it. I remember it as though I was in a dark
room with a bright shaft of light shining down on me. From that moment on
all I wanted to be was a boxer.
“My dad didn’t take me back to the gym. He wanted me to get interested
in other sports like football or basketball and swimming; he wanted to make
sure that I was exposed to other sports. When I was ten years old, he asked
me again if I wanted to be a boxer, and I said ‘Yes.’ It was the only thing
I ever really wanted to be. When I was twelve he asked me again and I gave
him the same answer.”
For Michael Duddy to see his son, John, fighting must be especially emotional,
for his own older brother John Francis Duddy, was killed at age 17 in Derry
on Bloody Sunday in 1972. “They all called my uncle ‘Jackie.’ He used to
box and it was because of him that my dad became a boxer as well. My father
was only 12 when Jackie was killed. When I was growing up my Dad never spoke
about it. Politics were not discussed in our house, either. I’m lucky because
my father never put any pressure on me in any way. I’m not fighting for
anyone else. I’m fighting for me. This is my business, no one else’s. Although
I’m sure that my Uncle Jackie is smiling down on me watching me fight and
thinking I’m doing a good job.”
Never putting pressure on his son, Michael waited until John was certain
that boxing was his dream, and then guided him to the tough world of amateur
boxing. Duddy fought in 130 bouts, winning 100 of them. After entering international
competitions, John felt burned out, which is a common condition amongst
those who start fighting at a young age.
Duddy describes it saying, “I couldn’t take the same bad hotels on the
circuit anymore; the same bad food, bad buses, and bad plane trips. It just
wasn’t fun anymore and, more importantly. I wasn’t getting any better as
a fighter.”
It was Eddie McLaughlin, an Irishman who lives in Queens, New York, who
changed John’s life. As a friend of Duddy’s trainer back in Ireland, McLaughlin
was told that a promising young fighter was interested in coming over to
America.
“Send him here and we’ll see if he likes it,” recounts McLaughlin, who
is now Duddy’s manager.
“That was my dream,” confirms Duddy, “I’d been to America a couple of
times as an amateur and I knew this was the place to be. The best trainers,
the best sparring partners, the best of everything in boxing is here. Eddie
opened that door for me and he has looked after me ever since.”
Duddy first turned professional when he fought Tarek Rached at Jimmy’s
Bronx Café on September 19, 2003. Fighting as a middleweight at 160 pounds,
Duddy is both powerful and tough; he knocked out Rached in the first round.
So far the only hiccup in Duddy’s boxing career happened outside of the
ring when he was sent back to Ireland for seven months last year. “I overstayed
my visa,” he explains. “I was told it would be alright but it wasn’t.”
Faced with the possibility of his dream being over, John became depressed.
“Even though my father offered to work with me back in the gym in Ireland,
my heart just wasn’t in it,” he reflected. “Nothing could make me pursue
my career in Ireland. Ireland will always be home for me. It’s a wonderful
country but not for boxing. So I worked as a bouncer, a postman, and a lifeguard
until I was able to come back to New York City.”
As far as his life and career goes here, Duddy enthuses, “I’m really
very happy because my girlfriend, Grainne, came over here with me. And as
far as my boxing goes, I keep it simple. I don’t look too far ahead. The
people I have around me are the right people. In this sport a lot of people
around boxers put money first. These people put me first. I’m still young.
I have a great lifestyle with no responsibilities, like family and mortgages.
There is no pressure on me. My friends in Derry all have more obligations.
If I wasn’t a boxer I’d be working on the building sites. I feel very lucky.
My parents married when they were 17 and 18 years old. They had three of
us four kids by the time they were as old as I am now.”
As the eldest of four siblings Duddy describes his family as very sporty.
“My younger sister is a jockey, and when I see her riding those horses I
know how nervous my mum must feel when she sees me in the ring,” he laughs.
“She tries to avoid seeing me fight. My dad, on the other hand, is even
coming over for the Pierre fight.”
“I’m lucky; I’m learning and getting better every day. I’m happy because
I’m living my dream, and I’m Irish, so that means wherever I fight I have
the Irish fans cheering me on. In Ireland it doesn’t matter whether you
are Catholic or Protestant, the crowd cheers for you. Sometimes I daydream
of walking through the green fields of Derry, but I really love being here
and being a boxer because of all the friends you make.”
One thing you can be sure is John Duddy’s Irish fans will be out in full
force in the future to cheer on this likeable and hardworking Derry boy
who is following his dream.
Postscript: John Duddy won a TKO in his fight with Leonard Pierre in
just one-minute-sixteen-seconds of the first round. He had to chase Pierre
around the ring to land his devastating punches, but he landed enough for
the referee to see that the fight had to be stopped.
When I talked to John Duddy after his victory against Leonard Pierre,
he exulted, “I’ve never experienced anything like it – all those TV cameras
and press and so many people around me.”
When he first entered the ring, the TV close-up showed his steely determination,
an almost otherworldly expression. John confirmed, “Yes, I was in my own
world – just looking at one man, the one in the ring with me. I was only
concentrating on Leonard Pierre.
“I was expecting a really tough fight against Pierre, but it’s funny
– my coach and manager both had an idea it would play out the way it did.
“My father came over to watch the fight. We celebrated the following
evening by shooting pool and having a few beers together.”
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