CHAVEZ JR. PROVES CLEAR WINNER
The rocky road to the top in boxing proved a step too far for John Duddy when the son OF legendary World champion Mexican Julio Cesar Chavez, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., proved a grade above the 31-yearold popular Irishman.
Julio Jr. won by a clear majority and in the final round the Derry boxer Duddy was somewhat fortunate to not have been stopped by the intervention of the referee.
The scorecards of the ringside judges read: Juergen Langos gave every round to Chavez, 120-108,, This was ludicrous. The other two judges Julie Lederman and Glen Rick Crocker scored it 117-111 and 116-112 respectively.
A gracious winner, Julio Jr. said, 'John is the toughest fighter I've faced so far. He kept the pressure on and really pushed me,' said Chavez.
'But I knew coming in that he was going to be challenging, and I was happy to walk away with the victory.'
An equally gracious John Duddy said, “I knew that I hurt him in the sixth round. Unfortunately, I wasn't good enough to finish him off. He had good pressure, and he hits solidly with both hands.”
“I thought that it was a very good fight. I came here and I tried to do what I thought that I could do. I wish that I could have gone better.
“In the third round I rocked him with a good right and he battled back. That’s the sign of a good fighter.”
By way of a reply Julio Jr. said, “He did hit me pretty good. I did feel that punch. But that shows that I can also take a punch. I think that he's a very strong guy and he definitely caught me.
The first three rounds were feeling out rounds. We wanted to see what he had. Once I felt sure that I could handle him, I went right after him and I pressured him
One obvious difference in the performance of both boxers was the game plan devised by the trainer/Coach of Julio Jr., the remarkable Freddie Roach. The master Coach recognized that John Duddy was at his best when in close and throwing hooks.
Therefore, Julio Jr. had to frustrate this asset and frustrate he did as the result clearly proved. ~