PROFESSIONAL BOXING: AS HE made his way to his dressingroom in the dungeon of the Park Plaza Castle after losing all 10 rounds of his fight against Ireland's John Duddy on Saturday night, Charlie Howe was hailed by a trainer who had worked the corner in an earlier preliminary bout.

"You," an admiring John Curran saluted Howe, "are one tough son of a bitch."

"Thanks," Howe managed a sheepish grin.

"I don't like being known for that, but after a fight like this one, I'll take it!"

Although the enthusiastic, mostly native Irish, capacity crowd of 1,200 that turned out for Duddy's first Boston fight in two-and-a-half years on Saturday night had plainly hoped to see the Derry middleweight return to the form that had seen him knock out 14 of his first 15 opponents (eight of them in the first round), were treated instead to the new and improved version of John Duddy.

"I've learned I don't have to be brave all the time," said Duddy.

"I decided to stop being so hard-headed and do a bit of boxing."

The result was a one-sided points decision in which he didn't cede a single round on the scorecards of ringside judges Don O'Neil, Bob Kaprelian and Leo Gerstel, who all scored the bout 100-90 in the Irishman's favour.

Duddy not only boxed patiently behind an effective jab, but displayed previously unsuspected defensive abilities whereby he made himself an elusive target all evening as he posted his 25th victory in 25 professional fights.

Which is not to say that his fire-power was never in evidence. Duddy, who punished his foe with a withering body attack throughout the evening, had Howe hurt on several occasions, most notably in the second round when he followed two shots to the midsection with a left hook that sent the opponent crashing backwards, spreadeagled, into the ring ropes.

Although the ropes were all that kept Howe from landing in the VIP seats, referee Mike Marvelle didn't rule a knockdown, and Howe survived the stanza when the bell shortly intervened.

"I caught him with a lot of shots and thought he was ready to go a few times," said Duddy, "but Charlie Howe showed he is a true warrior. He's as tough as they come."

Howe (17-4-1), who won high marks for his bravery and resiliency in this one, has been stopped just once in 24 professional fights.

Although he absorbed considerable punishment, Howe was barely able to lay a glove on Duddy.

The Derryman nonetheless emerged from the bout bleeding from a cut above his right eye, the result of an inadvertent clash of heads near the end of the ninth round.

The wound was stitched in the dressingroom after the fight, and is unlikely to prove an impediment for a hoped-for world title challenge in September.

Duddy's stock had tumbled badly after his February outing against Tunisia's Walid Smichet, from which he emerged with three severe cuts and a controversial majority decision. The widespread supposition was that a spectacular performance against Howe might give the number-two-ranked middleweight (by both the WBC and WBO) a leg-up in what seemed to be a mano-a-mano battle with WBC light-middleweight champion Sergio Mora for the challenger's role in Kelly Pavlik's planned September defence.

The dominating nature of his win over Howe was certainly impressive, though hardly spectacular, but come September Duddy may well find himself fighting for a world title anyway - if not against Pavlik, then against 38-year-old Verno Phillips, the International Boxing Federation light-middleweight champion.

New trainer Pat Burns, who had replaced Don Turner, who five fights earlier had replaced Harry Keitt, was justly lauded for the improvements evinced in Saturday's outing.

"When I looked at films of John's earlier fights, it seemed as if whenever he got hit he had a tendency to get his Irish up and fight like he was coming out of a bar," said Burns.

"What we worked a lot on was keeping him patient and fighting under control, using his jab the way he did tonight and using movement to keep from being hit so often."

In the month he worked with Duddy at Miami's Phantom Gym, Burns also became convinced that Duddy might be better suited to light-middleweight. (The Irishman weighed a trim 158½lb for Howe, a pound and a half inside the middleweight limit.)

"The more I saw of him the more persuaded I became that 154 should be his optimal fighting weight," said Burns.

"When I asked John about making it, he said 'No problem.'

"At 160, he's just an average-sized middleweight, but at 154 he would be a very big light-middleweight," explained Burns.

"The final decision rests with Irish Ropes, of course, but that's my opinion, and John is on board with it, too."

To that end, it is understood that Duddy's representatives have already been in contact with Phillips's promoter Art Pelullo about a September championship fight.

Irish Ropes sources indicated that while Madison Square Garden and Las Vegas casinos loom as potential sites, the King's Hall in Belfast and a venue in Dublin are also under consideration.

The Ennis cruiserweight Mark Clancy improved to 8-0-1 with a one-sided points decision over Salah Zabian in their six-round bout on the Boston undercard.