February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Mejia, a replacement for countryman Emiliano Cayetano who reportedly ran into visa problems, claimed a hand injury when he quit on the pay-per-view card from the Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena card in Hollywood.
“The guy said he broke his hand,” Duddy trainer Harry Keitt said on his return to New York. “He didn’t break his hand. John broke his heart.”
Indeed, Duddy, who wrapped up a brilliant year with his seventh win – six of them via the short route – in 11 months, produced arguably his most technically consummate performance in the TKO victory.
The hard punching Derryman turned what could have been a tricky scrap with a sleek 23 year-old, 5-foot-11, southpaw with a credible 15-4-2 record into a mugging, battering Mejia from pillar to post until his spirit failed. They were no knockdowns in the scheduled eight-rounder.
Duddy showed impressive defensive skills, slipping and ducking punches, a good jab and his usual fluid punching in beating his man consistently to the punch. He attacked Mejia from the first bell, landing thudding hooks to the body in search of a quick KO to appease the 2,000 sold-out crowd that included some 130 Irish faithful from New York.
Mejia survived the first round, but continued to be outboxed in the second after Keitt had instructed Duddy to relax and not pursue the Dominican around the ring.
By the third round, Mejia, unable to land anything more than a jab on the relentless Irishman, was a beaten fighter. To Duddy handler Eddie McLoughlin, Mejia’s failure to answer the bell for the fourth round was no surprise.
“(Duddy) caught him with a left hook to the body and two or three rights to the head towards the end of the third round and I knew the end was near,” he said. “I was very impressed.”
Keitt gave his prizefighter a B plus for the win, which upped his ledger to 14-0 (13 KOs).
“He was trying too hard for a KO but when he started to relax that’s when (Mejia) quit. John started cracking him and the guy, seeing the fight wasn’t going well, gave up,” the trainer summed up.
Duddy was harsher on himself despite outclassing another fighter with an impressive winning record.
“I think I was below average to be honest,” the 26 year-old said. “I think I didn’t box too well tonight, I think 70 percent of what I can do. But a victory is a victory and I’ll take it and my coach Harry, he’s happy enough.”
Of Mejia, Duddy said: “He was a tricky guy and I think I was trying to impress too much being my first time in Florida. I was moving my head a lot more than I usually do (and) I was getting caught with those right jabs too much.”
DANDY DUNDEE
Legendary trainer Angelo Dundee, one of several luminaries at ringside at the Hard Rock Live Arena, gave the Queens-based Duddy the thumbs up after his win over Mejia.
“John Duddy looks like a heck of a prospect,” gushed the man who guided the careers of Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard among others.
“He’s fighting a southpaw and he’s fighting him the only way you (must), with aggression – and this kid (Mejia) ain’t bad. He’s smart, he’s sleek and he’s got a good right hook for a southpaw.”
Also getting a close up view of the Derry Destroyer were former world heavyweight king Mike Tyson, last seen in the ring getting pummeled into submission by Kevin McBride, and actor Burt Reynolds.
SULTAN OF SWING
The Duddy-Mejia bout was the shortest bout on the televised portion of the “Global Warfare” card.
Russian heavyweight Sultan Ibragimov, who brawled with 6-foot-8 Lance “Mount” Whitaker at the press conference announcing the show last month scored a seventh round TKO after depositing the American to the canvas three times, while world heavyweight title contender Samuel “The Nigerian Nightmare” Peters outpointed Robert Hawkins over 10 rounds.