February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The scheduled 10-round middleweight contest with the Mexican-born Munoz will be Duddy’s first bout since the hitherto unheralded Ohioan Billy Lyell handed him his first professional loss last April.
Duddy, who has been training back home, married long time girlfriend Grainne in Derry on August 30. For Keitt, who teams up with Duddy after nearly two and a half years, “that’s one fight over and another on the horizon.”
“He just got married [so] he got past that fight. Now he has got to get ready for the fight ahead and get on the path to redemption so that he can redeem himself,” said Keitt, fired by Duddy’s former management team, Irish Ropes, in May 2007.
He added that he would have liked to have the world ranked Duddy [26-1, 17 KOs] back earlier to prepare for Munoz.
Duddy has been training in Derry and according to Greg McIntyre, one of his handlers, run a half marathon there last weekend.
“He’s in good shape,” McIntyre added.
Nick-named “El Matador,” Munoz is 21-3 [14 KOs] and fights out of Topeka, Kansas. Once tapped to fight Duddy by Irish Ropes, Munoz is coming off a tenth round TKO loss to Carson Jones in Oklahoma last May.
McIntyre, meanwhile, confirmed that Top Rank, promoters of the Garden show next month, are interested in matching Duddy against Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., the undefeated [40-0-1, 30 KOs] son of his legendary name-sake father.
McIntyre said Duddy-Chavez could happen in December or January. Needless to say, Duddy would first have to get past Munoz.
Ticket information for Duddy-Munoz is available from McIntrye at (917) 528-7379, Barney Moore at (917) 559-8467 or from www.duddyboxing.com.