Injured Pavlik's fight called off

The Youngstown middleweight was scheduled to fight Jan. 21 in Las Vegas.
By BOB ROTH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Once again, the window of opportunity has closed down for boxer Kelly Pavlik as his Jan. 21 bout against Miami's Edison Miranda (24-0, 21 KOs) has been canceled.
In the past two weeks, Pavlik, a ranked middleweight contender, suffered a hand injury in a sparring session. He was hoping the injury would heal on its own, but it hasn't.
The Pavlik-Miranda bout, a 12-round middleweight eliminator, was on the Manny Pacquiao/Erik Morales super featherweight title bout card at The Thomas & amp; Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Injured sparring
The sparring session was with Akron's Shawn Porter.
"I found an opening and hit him with a straight right and pain just shot up my shoulder," Pavlik said. "I waited a week to see if it would go away and it didn't, so after talking it over with Jack, I called [co-manager and agent] Cameron Dunkin last Tuesday."
Dunkin does work for promoter Bob Arum, who was promoting most of the Jan. 21 card.
"It isn't worth the gamble for Kelly to come in at less than 100 percent, especially against a quality opponent like Miranda," Dunkin said. "Naturally Bob Arum is disappointed, but he feels he can negotiate a bout for late March or early April on an HBO card that would still have Kelly on television and we could have a better opponent for him then."
Pavlik disappointed
Jack Loew, Pavlik's trainer, and Pavlik are feeling the pangs of disappointment.
"We had put in a lot of work already and with the fight being a step up, it is hard to let it go," Lowe said.
Pavlik said. "I surely do not like missing this opportunity on the 21st, but when I punch on the big bag the pain is there. And I will not go into a meaningful fight without the ability to throw punches."
When told of Pavlik"s injury. Arum said, "The wait to bring Kelly to being a top contender in his division has been long, so a few weeks more won't hurt.
"We feel that at his best he is one of the better middleweights in the world and don't forget he hasn't lost as a professional yet."