Ward injury forces cancellation of title defense
Super middleweight champion Andre Ward will need surgery on his right shoulder, forcing an already postponed title defense against former middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik to be canceled, according to an ESPN.com report.
Pavlik's manager, Cameron Dunkin, confirmed the report.
Ward was hurt late last month in a sparring session, leading to the postponement of the Jan. 26 HBO main event. Initially, promoter Dan Goossen and the network planned to reschedule the fight for March 2.
Dunkin told ESPN.com that he was told Wednesday night by Top Rank's Bob Arum, Pavlik's promoter, that Ward would be out for an extended period.
"Bob called me up and told me the fight was out and said, 'What are we gonna do with Pavlik?'" Dunkin said. "He said Goossen called him and told him that Ward needed shoulder surgery. So I don't know what we're gonna do, but we're going to move forward and get Kelly a fight and get him back in the ring."
The cancelation leaves co-featured heavyweight world title elimination fight between Cristobal Arreola (35-2, 30 KOs) and Bermane Stiverne (22-1-1, 20 KOs) in limbo. The winner of the fight, which is now likely to be rescheduled, will become the mandatory challenger for titleholder Vitali Klitschko.
