By Rick Reeno

The agreed upon fight between unbeatens John Duddy (25-0, 17 KOs) and Ronald Hearns (19-0, 15 KOs) is in possible jeopardy. The junior middleweight encounter is scheduled to take place on January 17 at Madison Square Garden with HBO televising.

BoxingScene.com reported last week that Duddy's fight with Sam Hill [to take place on Nov. 21] had fallen through, but in the background there was a mountain of maneuvering going on.

Duddy is unhappy with his promotional current deal with East Coast company Irish Ropes, run by Eddie McLoughlin. Duddy is less than satisfied with his current manager Tony McLoughlin. Duddy hooked up with new manager Craig Hamilton, and quickly had his legal counsel state his position to the McLoughlin brothers. The beef between Duddy and the McLoughlins appears to be heading to a courtroom near you. There are binding contracts involved and a simple "I'm leaving" is not enough to break them.

The deal for Duddy-Hearns was made between Irish Ropes and Lou DiBella [promotes Hearns]. Between Duddy making his play to leave Irish Ropes and a possible legal battle hanging over the situation, it's safe to say that Hearns might need to secure a new opponent in the near future.