February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
A sellout crowd of some 800 at the plush hotel was on its feet cheering hoarsely for the duration of the brief and brutal fight before referee David Fields come to Laudat’s rescue as he staggered drunkenly into Duddy’s corner.
Thus the scheduled four-rounder, which Duddy’s handlers had expected to go the distance, ended abruptly at 1:03 minutes of the opening stanza, with the charismatic Irish light middleweight’s notoriety further enhanced.
But Duddy, who improved to 3-0 (3 KOs) and was rewarded with a spot on the Vitali Klitschko-Kirk Johnson undercard at the storied Madison Square Garden on Dec. 6 against Cuban Oriol Martinez, was far from elated.
Moments after dropping Laudat in the fifth second with a right hand and opening up with a fusillade that the Tennessee fighter bravely withstood, Duddy got careless and was caught while square-footed by a right cross.
He dropped to one knee but rose almost immediately, albeit with his ego bruised.
“I was more embarrassed than hurt,” he later said. “That’s the amateur style in me. There’s a lot more work to be done.”
The knockdown, his first as a pro and only his second ever as a boxer since being floored in the European Championships as an amateur, further incensed the 24-year-old who went after the lanky Laudat.
At 6-feet, 2 inches taller and 2 pounds lighter than the 156-pound Duddy, Laudat had never been stopped in his eight previous pro fights of which he’d won three.
And although a solid puncher who’d scored KOs in all his three victories, in Duddy, he faced a bigger hitter with quick hands.
Duddy hurled bombs at Laudat with both hands after coming off the canvas, catching his man with another right that put him down again.
Laudat got up in a fog and when Duddy landed another right, went down for the third time. He got up at the count of 6 and with his legs no longer under his control, staggered into Duddy’s corner.
The referee wisely stepped in and waved the fight over to the delight of the packed ballroom that was overwhelmingly in Duddy’s corner.
Later, giving testimony to Duddy’s prowess, Laudat revealed that he had no recollection of the fight after he had decked the Irishman.
“I remember knocking him down, but I don’t remember him knocking me down,” the 25-year-old, whose record fell to 4-6, said. “I don’t remember the stoppage.”
What Duddy may want to forget was his Mike Tyson-like approach to the fight after pre-fight promises to show his boxing skills.
“When I put him down [the first time], I stopped thinking and went after him,” he said. “That right hand he caught me with was a wake-up call.”
He talked of reverting to his old amateur style of counter-punching and boxing more and vowed to show this side of his game at the Garden next month.
“Next time I’ll be more patient and show that I’m a complete fighter,” he promised.
Eddie McLoughlin, one of Duddy’s handlers, said the best lesson that came out of the fight was his charge’s trip to the canvas.
“He got decked and that got him [Duddy] mad. Once he got [Laudat] going, it’s good the way he finished him off.”
Added McLoughlin: “We’ve got to pace him. He’s got a beautiful jab, he’s got to box.”
Micky Ward, the retired junior lightweight famous for his brutal trilogy with Arturo Gatti, was at ringside and gave Duddy the thumbs.
“He looked excellent. It was a great fight,” Ward said.