Joseph Duffy talks win over Boussuge, Cage Warriors 155lb title shot and more

Joseph Duffy sent social media threads into frenzy with his emphatic KO of Julien Boussuge at Cage Warriors 74, which took place in London’s Copper Box Arena on Saturday night.

The Donegal man wasted no time feeling his French opponent out, feeding him straight shots from the get go. When Boussuge looked to force the action to the canvas, Duffy caught him with a stunning knee as he ducked his head, rendering him unconscious just inside 30 seconds of the first round.

“You can’t ask for much more than that, I’m happy with that one,” said Duffy on the stunning finish at CWFC 74. “I wanted to put the pressure on him early. That’s something I’ve always felt I’d done well in my MMA fights.

“On Saturday night I really felt like I’d have the edge on the feet and I had a feeling once he got a taste of that he would look to change it up. It was just the right shot at the right time I suppose.”

Irish MMA fans have been calling for Duffy to be pushed into contention for Steven Ray’s 155 lbs title on the back of the win, and the MMA Clinic fighter confirmed that he would have no problem with meeting the Scotsman if Cage Warriors make the fight.

Duffy said: “There’s no reason why we couldn’t fight. Like I’ve said, it’s just a case of leaving it up to Ian Dean and the rest of the Cage Warriors crew as to who is next in line.”

Interestingly, before leaving MMA to clock up a 7-0 record in professional boxing, the dynamic Irishman’s strength seemingly lied in his aggressive ground game. Now, having displayed his pugilistic prowess against Damien Lapilus in his return to the sport back in August, the knee KO of Boussuge further pointed to his striking skills being his most lethal asset.

However, Duffy is confident that he can mix it up with most on the canvas, and his third round submission win over Lapilus serves as evidence of that.

“I suppose my style has changed, up until now anyway,” he agreed. “What we’ve seen up until now has been mostly stand up but I think it all depends on the opponents and the questions they ask of my game really. As we hit the deck a bit more maybe we’ll see a bit more of my ground game again.”

Commanding one of the best records on the European scene before taking a back step from MMA in 2011 (10-1), Duffy has courted more media attention than ever since making his comeback. The MMA Clinic recognizes that it is no small part due to the popularity of Irish charges and his former opponents Conor McGregor and Norman Parke, who both tasted defeat for the last time at the hands of Duffy.

“Without a doubt I’ve noticed the difference in the support of the sport. Obviously with the hype with Conor and Norman, they’ve educated the Irish public as to what MMA is. There’s a lot more people following it.

“The people who are following it have done their homework and they have seen that my name has popped up. Maybe that’s how it’s all come about, but the support has been great,” he said.

While Duffy must’ve got some good insights as to where his level was in the Lapilus bout which reached the third round, with Saturday night’s win being so one sided and Duffy so dominant, it must make isolating weaknesses from the performance very difficult for the Donegal man.

Despite that, Duffy claimed that he never stops identifying elements of his game he can work on, and has already thought of something that needs some attention for when he gets back to training on Tuesday.

“A lot of the time I’m critiquing stuff in training rather than just in the fight. Already I’ve been thinking of things I could improve on. Me and my girlfriend were walking through the shopping centre earlier on and something popped in to my head out of nowhere that I should work on.

“When I get back to training on Tuesday that’s what I’ll be focusing on straight away. This stuff goes through my head day in, day out,” explained the lightweight.

Finally, Duffy outlined his plans to fight four or five time in 2015 and again highlighted that he would have no hesitation taking a shot at Steven Ray’s 155 lbs title if the match was made:

“I like to stay active so four or five fights would be nice. If the lightweight title shot is given, then of course that will be part of my plans too.”

 @PetesyCarroll