Battered and bloodied, Irishman John Duddy used a late flurry to earn a 10-round majority decision

Battered and bloodied, Irishman John Duddy used a late flurry to earn a 10-round majority decision over Walid Smichet Saturday night on the undercard of Wladimir Klitschko’s heavyweight unification fight against Sultan Ibragimov at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The rumor all week had been that promoter Bob Arum was eager to put unbeaten middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik into the ring against Duddy for a June fight that would draw a huge crowd. A deal with Duddy’s promoter, Irish Ropes, seemed imminent before the night began.

Then the unbeaten Duddy put in perhaps the most unflattering performance of his career.

Arum said afterward the cuts to Duddy’s face likely put off a matchup with Pavlik, at least for now.

“It’s silly to force the fight,” said Arum, who still wants Pavlik to fight in June. “You don’t know if [Duddy] is going to fight or not fight. ... But Kelly’s going to fight three times this year so we’ll do it down the road.”

Pavlik said Sunday he’s preparing for a fight June 7 at Madison Square Garden; who the opponent will be is — for now — insignificant.

“Whoever they put in the ring I’ll fight,” said the champion, who planned to attend the Duddy fight Saturday night but was unable because of delayed and canceled flights. His co-manager, Cameron Dunkin, was ringside at the fight with Arum, according to espn.com.