John Duddy Wins UD Against Matt Vanda

John Duddy cruised to a unanimous decision victory over Matt Vanda last night in Madison Square Garden. Apart from a late flurry of punches from Vanda in the 10th round, Duddy was always in control, using his jab to set the pace and to keep Vanda at bay.
It was apparent from the start that Duddy was determined not to let the fight turn into a brawl, he used his quick hands and much improved footwork to outclass the rough and tough brawler Vanda.
Duddy's trainer Pat Burns kept reminding him to stick to his jab and to "not get lazy" when it looked like he may be letting the crowd influence him.
One unusual point in the fight came when the referee, Arthur Mercante Jr, was heard to say to the fighters at the start of the round, "come on, let's give the crowd what they want", almost as if he was urging Duddy to engage in a toe to toe battle with Vanda! Duddy however did not oblige and went on to win a unanimous decision scoring, 99-91, 99-91, and the inexplicable score of 97-93 from one judge as it was clear that Vanda has barely won a round.
As mentioned before, Vanda had a brief period of success at the end of round 10 when a he landed some good combinations on Duddy but the Derryman was able to weather the storm proving that his chin is as rock solid as ever.
The future looks bright for Duddy based on this performance. If the decision to drop down to 154lbs is made and the increased punch power this would bring, along with his improved boxing skills, Duddy would be a hard man to beat in the light middleweight division.