WBC title holder Andre Ward postpones fight for shoulder surgery

Andre Ward (left) defeated Chad Dawson in September to retain the WBA, WBC and The Ring Super Middleweight titles.

Jeff Chiu/AP

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Super middleweight champion Andre Ward has had surgery on his injured right shoulder that will postpone his title bout against Kelly Pavlik for a second time.

The fight had originally been scheduled for Jan. 26 in Los Angeles but was postponed until March when Ward hit his shoulder while sparring.

After rest did not heal the injury, Ward got a second opinion from San Francisco Giants orthopedic surgeon Dr. Michael Dillingham, who discovered a small tear in Ward's shoulder capsule.

Dillingham operated on Ward on Friday and says the surgery went well. Ward is expected to begin rehab within a week.