Super middleweight champion Andre Ward's right shoulder injury is more serious than originally thought and he will need surgery, forcing his already postponed title defense against former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik to be canceled, a Ward camp source told ESPN.com on Wednesday night and Pavlik's manager, Cameron Dunkin, confirmed.

Ward injured the shoulder during a sparring session in late November, forcing the Jan. 26 HBO main event -- slated to be on the first boxing card at the Galen Center on the USC campus in Los Angeles -- to be postponed. Promoter Dan Goossen and HBO had planned to reschedule the fight on March 2 at a venue to be determined because the Galen Center was not available on the new date.

Reached while on a family vacation, Dan Goossen, Ward's promoter, declined to discuss the situation Wednesday night.

Dunkin told ESPN.com that he was notified Wednesday night by Top Rank's Bob Arum, Pavlik's promoter, that Ward would be sidelined for an extended period.