Pavlik vs. Ward rescheduled after Andre Ward sustains shoulder injury

Youngstown-native Kelly Pavlik was originally scheduled to fight Andre Ward on Jan. 26 at the USC campus in Los Angeles and on HBO's "World Championship Boxing," but the fight will be postponed due to a shoulder injury Ward suffered while sparring. According to Dan Rafael of ESPN, the initial reschedule target date for the fight is Feb. 23.

As for what happened to Ward, here is an explanation from Ward's promoter, Dan Goossen (via ESPN):

"He felt a little tweak when he threw a punch and stopped immediately," Ward's promoter, Dan Goossen, told ESPN.com on Thursday. "He didn't really think it was that damaging at first but he certainly felt pain. He went to the doctor and followed up with an MRI (on Friday). It disclosed no tears, no rotator cuff injury, nothing of devastating proportions, but there was a lot of swelling and inflammation, so the key to healing is not using the arm for a few weeks."

Pavlik, a middleweight powerhouse, has been incredibly successful in the ring. He held the middleweight championship from 2007 to 2010, and his record is 40-2 with 34 KOs. He's a hometown favorite that should have plenty of support when the fight eventually does occur. Ward is 26-0 with 14 KOs.

The remainder of the fight card for that night on Jan. 26 has also been rescheduled. Goossen has also said he hopes to keep the fight at the Garlen Center.