Articles

Duddy Returns To The Ring

Published

10 years ago

January 22, 2011

The recently retired middleweight contender puts on the gloves one more time as the lead in the one-act Off Broadway play, “Kid Shamrock”

For Immediate Release: Ireland's John Duddy makes his theatrical debut next month in the title role of the one-act play, “Kid Shamrock,” at the Atlantic Theater Company in Manhattan.

The play is written by boxing writer Bobby Cassidy Jr. and is based on the life and career of his father, former contender, “Irish” Bobby Cassidy. The play also stars former cruiserweight contender Seamus McDonagh, referee Wayne Kelly, Cassidy Sr., former New York Golden Gloves champion Gary Hope and Patrick Joseph Connolly. The piece is being directed by Dublin's Jimmy Smallhorne, whose debut feature film “2by4” won a cinematography award at the Sundance Film Festival.

In the play, Duddy will square off against actor Nick Roman, who portrays former world middleweight champion Rodrigo Valdes.

The play is an homage to the vibrant blue-collar tradition of Irish-American boxing. Performances will take place at the Atlantic Theater Company, 330, W16 Street, between 8th and 9th Aves from February 8th through February 13th. Seven performances only. Beginning on Tuesday, tickets can be booked online at www.ticketcentral.com or by calling 212-279-4200.

CAST

John Duddy — The recently retired middleweight contender begins his foray into acting, playing the role of young Kid Shamrock. Look for John later this season in the finale of the critically acclaimed, “Lights Out.” As an amateur boxer, John was a national champion with over 100 wins. In the pro ranks, he retired with a 29-2 record with 18 knockouts. Among his victims were former world champion Yuri Boy Campas and former European champ Howard Eastman.

Seamus McDonagh — Former New York Golden Gloves champion and graduate of St. John's University. Seamus was ranked No. 3 in the world as a cruiserweight and in 1990 he fought Evander Holyfield. Among his acting credits include, “2by4,” “Whatever Happened to Rocky Sullivan?,” and the Off-Broadway production, “Bobby Sands' M.P.”

Patrick Joseph Connolly — His film credits include, “Gardener of Eden,” which premiered at The TriBeCa Film Festival and was directed by Kevin Connolly and produced byLeonardo DiCaprio. He also appeared in the final scene of the final episode of the HBO hit series, “The Sopranos.” His theater roles include, “Prisoner of Second Avenue,” and “A Letter from Ethyl Kennedy.” He is a former Golden Goves winner.

Irish Bobby Cassidy – A veteran of 79 pro fights and a top-10 contender in the junior middleweight, middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. He fought in both the current and old Madison Square Garden. He also trained two world champions — Lonnie Bradley and Donny Lalonde. He has appeared in four films, including the original “Rocky,” which won an Oscar for best picture in 1976.

Wayne Kelly – Referee who has officiated 50 world title fights. The Garden City resident turned pro in 1975 as a light heavyweight and campaigned for five years. He fought at the fabled Sunnyside Garden and Nassau Coliseum.

Director Jimmy Smallhorne is a native of Dublin Ireland and directed 2by4, a Sundance winner for cinematography. For the stage he has directed Away Alone, Once a Catholic, The Risen People and King Lear.

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The Sweet Science

Articles

2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

5 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Articles

Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

5 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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Articles

2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

5 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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