LAS VEGAS Injured hand sidelines Pavlik

He reinjured his right hand while sparring.
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
Tonight at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas was supposed to be a big night for Kelly Pavlik.
The undefeated (18-0) Youngstown middleweight was scheduled for the main event, a 10-rounder on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights.
One of three very competitive opponents with an outstanding record was to be named to fight him tonight. Pavlik was in training for this bout when in a sparring session at an Akron gym he re-injured his right hand. On Aug. 29 it was decided by Pavlik, his trainer, Jack Loew and his co-manager and father, Mike Pavlik, that he would not fight.
"I did something early in that Akron sparring session possibly spraining my right," said Pavlik, 21. "Then I continued into a sixth round of work and near the end of that sixth round, I was trying to be too careful and that's when the real damage was done.
"I really wanted this fight because of the opportunity Top Rank was giving me," he added. "But Jack, my dad and I collectively agreed to call off the fight because my hand was too swollen and I would have been a one-handed fighter.
"It sure wasn't an easy thing for me to do because I had just learned a week earlier that I had been moved up to the main event, but at this level one fight doesn't make a career and right now the most important thing is my boxing career."
Doctor's care
A diagnosis by Dr. Lance Ferkula confirmed their suspicions. "They were right in calling off the fight because micro trauma led to ligament laxity and irritation to existing scar tissue and what we were dealing with is a lot of inflammation," he said.
"It will be six weeks before Kelly can begin hitting with his right hand," said Ferkula. "When his hand was originally injured it wasn't taken care of properly and the healing process turned out to be inadequate."
Pavlik is running 3-to-4 miles daily in Mill Creek Park and weight training at Rocky's in Boardman.
"There won't be any more gambling with my hand," he said. "Whatever the time is, six or seven weeks, I'll take all of it and I will be back in the gym when I am ready to go at full force and not worry about my hand."
Top Rank officials confirmed they expect a fight for Pavlik sometime in December.
"Kelly is definitely going to take the proper time off with time in the gym for shadow boxing, jumping rope and cardio vascular work beginning next week," said Loew. "When he is ready to work with his hand he and I will go to Las Vegas and work out in an atmosphere that Top Rank feels is conducive for his career. I am anxious to get this hand injury behind us because it is time to move on and get Kelly's career moving in the right direction."