There is a title on the line on Saturday night, when Julio Cesar Chavez takes on Ireland’s John Duddy, the man once referred to as The Derry Destroyer but now referred as…welll..he’s simply not referred to as much as he was say, three or so years ago.
The title, which I contemplated not mentioning because its existence borders on the ludicrous, is the ‘WBC “silver” middleweight title.’ This title is an invention of the World Boxing Council, which currently boasts Sergio Martinez as their “regular” middleweight champion, and Sebastian Zbik as their “interim” champion. Now, why Martinez isn’t called their “gold” champion, if a “silver” belt is now in play, we aren’t sure. Why they have an “interim” champion, I can’t say, because the whole deal bores me, and trying to discern the reasoning of the WBC is like trying to make sense of Really, we don’t care a stitch, and only mention it because we are somewhat perverse in calling out the sanctioning body silliness, when in fact it might be a wiser course to cease mentioning them at all, and let them die off on their own lack of merit.
(On the other hand, it is nice for boxers to fight for something tangible, aside from money. Why shouldn’t a man get to strap a belt around his waist after plugging away for so many years, and proudly show off the fruit of their labor?)
For Chavez Jr (41-0 with 30 KOs, coming off a sleep inducing win over Troy Rowland on the Pacquiao-Cotto undercard) and Duddy (29-1 with 18 KOs, just one coming in his last eight starts), what is at stake is less tangible.
Really, credibility is up for grabs.
All of us have seen Chavez Jr on PPV undercards, matched against foes picked by the Top Rank matchmaking crew with the utmost precision, looking underwhelming. Not even in comparison to his iconic dad, even, just underwhelming period.
And Duddy’s buzz peaked three years ago. Right after ex middleweight champ Jake Lamotta signed off on the kid, saying, “He’s my type of the fighter, because that’s the way I fought,” when the Irishman was 18-0 with 15 KOs. “He’s on his way, he could do it, he’s got the power, he can take a good punch, I like him very much.”
Some whispers began when he had a tougher time than some thought he should’ve against Yory Boy Campas in Sept. 2006. Whispers multiplied when he didn’t overwhelm against Dupre Strickland in May 2007, but Strickland is a spoiler-survivor. The buzz factory went into severe slowdown mode when Duddy was life or death with Walid Smichet in Feb. 2008, on the Wladimir Klitschko-Sultan Ibragimov undercard at Madison Square Garden. Not ready for primetime, Duddy busters said. Not even ready for pre primetime, the busters brayed when Duddy lost to Billy Lyell, who was termed a “B” level boxer by his own trainer, Jack Loew, after the Irishman dropped a SD10 in April 2009. The Top Rank ‘makers sifted through piles of journeyman with more scrutiny from that point on, and the Queens, NY-based hitter racked up Ws against Michi Munoz, Juan Astorga, and Michael Medina. Three years ago, Duddy was being built to have a showdown with Jermain Taylor in New York, and then after that planners pondered a battle with Kelly Pavlik, a throwback all-Caucasian clash that could have been marketed to the moon. Amid all that, trainers were scapegoated, and backers were jettisoned amid ugly allegations of financial impropriety (them) and conspicious ingratitude (Duddy).
One lesson to be learned from all this, I guess, is that sometimes dealmakers let things simmer so long, the stew gets reduced to glop. Might it have been better to pull the trigger early on Duddy, and book him against Taylor in a St Paddys day beef in 2008? As of now, it’s looking like that hindsight call is 20/20. But let’s let the Duddy arc play out, shall we?
Perhaps this crossroads clash will bring out the best in the Derry kid, who is actually no longer a kid, at 31? Maybe he gets it that his window is open a crack and he won’t be fed “cooperators” infinitely. Maybe he’ll let some of his ancestral ire bubble, and he’ll fight with some old style fury, instead of in the style he’s taken on in recent years, as that of boxer-mover, instead of brawler looking to put some hurt on his foe.
For Chavez Jr, the stakes aren’t as high. The kid is still a kid. Really, has anyone checked if he actually even shaves yet? He’s 24, and even with a loss, if he desires to keep at it, he can be fed “cooperators” for another few years, until he’s more seasoned, and has totally filled out, mentally as well as physically. That he’s open to improvement, and critiques fro new trainer Freddie Roach, bode well. He’s not, apparently, delusional about his skill set, and not merely coasting on his dad’s juice. He knows that he needs more tutelage.
“I learned he’s not lazy,” said Roach, “he’s not all the things I was warned about, that he has no work ethic, his work ethic was great with me, he trained very hard, he did everything I told him to do, we’re working on some new moves, he hasn’t accomplished making all the moves yet, but they’re in the works, he’s trying that’s what I like, I tell him to do something he tries it, I can’t ask him anything more.” Dedham Freddie was impressed with his 5 AM road work, he said, without needing to be Tasered out of bed. “He has a great jab, and he doesn’t use it as much as I want him to, he wants to fight like his father,” the trainer said. “He’s using the jab more and more every day, he’s getting more confident in it.” Freddie will be happy if Chavez uses his height and reach to keep Duddy on the outside, he said, and he was most pleasantly surprised that the kid has a decent personality. As for Duddy, Freddie says he’s strong, and durable, is always in shape, and has a good right hand, which Junior has a tendency to get hit with.
TSS U, who among you will be buying this PPV scrap? Are you excited or cringing at the prospect of a Marco Antonio Barrera comeback? You like Junior or Duddy in the main event? Do you see both men exceeding expectations? Weigh in!
