DERRYMAN JOHN Duddy may have to wait a little longer for his shot at a world title after middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik was relieved of his belts by Sergio Martinez on Saturday night.

The Argentinian stepped up to middleweight to take Pavlik’s WBO and WBC belts by unanimous decision in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Pavlik, who has been the benchmark for Irish middleweights Andy Lee, Matthew Macklin and Duddy, is likely to enact a rematch clause after emerging badly cut from a gruelling, 12-round bout.

Martinez, the southpaw WBC light middleweight champion, had stepped up to 160lb at the Boardwalk Hall, and he recovered when an apparent slip was ruled a knockdown in the seventh to hand Pavlik his first defeat at middleweight.

Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KOs) cut the champion around both eyes to score heavily in the closing rounds and got the verdict with scores of 115-112, 115-111 and 116-111.

For Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs), it was the second defeat of his career, having lost at light heavyweight in 2008 to Bernard Hopkins.

Asked about a rematch, Martinez’s promoter, Lou DiBella, said: “If they want it, they got it.”

Pavlik added: “I hate losing and I want to get the belts back.”

Duddy, who has bounced back from his sole career defeat against Billy Lyell with three wins, was likely to get a chance to face Pavlik if he beat the highly-rated Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr in San Antonio, Texas, in June.

But with a rematch between Martinez and Pavlik now on the cards, the Derryman looks like he’ll have to wait, whether he beats Chavez or not.

Pavlik required at least a dozen stitches and will need time to heal before a rematch. Should he be beaten again, it is unlikely Martinez will be interested in an early defence against the durable Duddy.

Lee or Macklin would not represent attractive match-ups for Martinez, either. Both have relatively low profiles in the US and would be dangerous opponents for the new champion to take on so early.