Andre Ward injures shoulder, reschedules Kelly Pavlik fight

Andre Ward has rescheduled his fight against former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik after "tweaking" his right shoulder in a sparring session last week, his promoter told ESPN. Dan Goossen told Dan Rafael that the injury occurred last week and the delayed announcement came because Ward wanted to get a solid opinion of the injury.

The fight was originally planned for Jan. 26 in Los Angeles' Galen Center, but Goossen said there is a new target date of Feb. 23. Ward, who is from Oakland, Calif., still wants to his sixth title defense to be held in Los Angeles. It was originally set to be broadcast on HBO's "World Championship Boxing."

The 28-year-old underwent an MRI after hurting his shoulder, and there appeared to be no substantial damage. Goossen told ESPN that there was, however, swelling and that rest was the only remedy.

Ward told Goossen that he has had nagging shoulder pains since he was a kid, the recent injury was a pain he had not felt before.