Rumor all week had been promoter Bob Arum was eager to put unbeaten middle
weight champion Kelly Pavlik into the ring against Duddy for a june fight
that would draw a huge crowd.A deal with duddy'spromoter,Irish Ropes's,
seemed imminent before the night began.Then the unbeaten Duddy put in
perhaps the most unflattering performance of his career.One judge scored
the bout 95-95 draw,while the other two judges had it 98-92 for Duddy.
Arum said afterward the cuts to Duddy's face likely put off a matchup
with Pavlik,at least for now.Pavlik said sunday he's preparing for a
fight June 7 at Madison Square Garden ;who the opponent will be is,
for now insignifican.Who ever they put in the ring I'll fight ,said
the champion.Arum told espn.com that as a plan B he is talking to
Main Events promoter Kathy Duva about matching Pavlik with New York
based Dominican Giovanni Lorenzo (26-0,18 KOs),who has faced even
weaker competition than Duddy and remains untested. Arum also said that
Kelly will fight three times this year,and all three will take place on HBO
not ppv.