Lyell ready to shock Duddy

By Joe Scalzo

The Niles native can add a big boost to his career on Friday night in New Jersey.

When Billy Lyell steps into the ring, he doesn’t always have the biggest reach or the biggest right hand, but he always has the biggest heart, said his trainer, Jack Loew.

That could pay dividends Friday night when Lyell (18-7, 3 KOs), a Niles native, meets Irishman John Duddy (26-0, 17 KOs) in a 10-round bout at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Duddy is the No. 2-ranked contender for Kelly Pavlik’s WBO title.

“Billy has so much heart and [guts] and works so hard,” said Loew, who has trained Lyell since he was 15. “This is a great opportunity for him.”

After a promising start to his pro career, the 24-year-old Lyell has gone just 6-4 over his last 10 bouts, including a eight-round unanimous decision loss to Vanes Martirosyan in February.

Beating Duddy would erase some of those disappointments and, likely, earn him a top 15 ranking.

“It’s a great opportunity,” said Lyell, who is managed by Pat Nelson. “To beat a fighter like him, it changes everything.

“It’d be a big step forward in my career.”

Duddy, 29, was headed for a bout with Pavlik last summer before suffering multiple cuts in a win over unheralded Walid Smichet in February 2008. He’s since won two bouts by unanimous decision and needs an impressive win over Lyell to regain career momentum.

But Loew feels Duddy is underestimating Lyell.

“Anytime Duddy fights someone under the radar, he underestimates him,” said Loew, who also trains Pavlik. “I think Duddy is very beatable. Billy fights so aggressively, this could be the perfect fight for him.

“And Duddy has fought nowhere near the competition Billy has. Whether he’s won or lost, Lyell has faced some tough guys.”

Because of Lyell’s low profile, several reporters have made a bigger deal out of Loew’s appearance in Newark than Lyell’s, believing Loew is there to get a scouting report.

“Listen, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know how to beat John Duddy — you throw punches at his head,” said Loew. “I don’t need to go to Newark, New Jersey, to learn that.

“But my concern is not him and Kelly Pavlik. I’m bringing Lyell in to whoop Duddy’s [butt].”

The 5-foot-9 Lyell has a 2-inch height disadvantage against Duddy and will probably give up a few pounds. (Lyell, a workout fiend with almost no body fat, weighed 156 pounds on Wednesday.)

But he thinks he can overcome Duddy’s strength with his speed.

“I think I’m faster than him,” Lyell, who recently graduated from YSU, said. “He’s obviously bigger but I have an advantage with my hand speed. He’s real aggressive and is tough when he comes forward, so I need to get him going backward and outwork him.

“If I do that, I think I can win the fight.”

scalzo@vindy.com