Since devastating Chad Dawson through 10 rounds and retaining his world super middleweight belts last September, Andre S.O.G. Ward’s drive to continue his dominating ways has been put on hold; while preparing for a title bout with former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, Ward suffered a right shoulder injury during training and has since been out of commission.
Last Friday Ward (26-0, 14 KO) underwent successful surgery to repair his shoulder, and is now anxious to being rehabilitation and resume his resurgence as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
“My surgery went very well and I am definitely pleased with the outcome. I had a fantastic team of surgeons overseeing everything on Friday morning and they did a great job of repairing the injury. I am confident that I will return to the ring even better than I was prior to the injury,” stated Ward.
Ward was originally scheduled to defend his title against Pavlik on January 26, but following Ward sustaining an injury during sparring, the bout was postponed and the new date was set to March 2. After Ward showed no signs of improvement in his shoulder, the subsequent scheduled bout was too cancelled, and at the time Ward’s return to the ring is undetermined.
To repair a small tear in Ward’s right shoulder capsule, Dr. Michael Dillingham—an orthopedic surgeon for San Francisco’s football and baseball teams—performed the surgery to get the undefeated champion back in gear to defend his titles.
“Technically, things went very well and all involved are very hopeful about the eventual outcome,” stated Dr. Dillingham. “Within a week, Andre will begin his rehab.”
Lisa Giannone, of Activecare Physical Therapy in San Francisco, will head up Andre’s rehabilitation team.
“The doctor said Andre will initially have his arm in a sling where he will be better prepared to give a timeline for Andre’s recovery process once the sling is removed,” said Ward’s promoter Dan Goossen. “Andre has always surpassed everyone’s expectations and I told Dr. Dillingham he can expect the same fire from Andre with his rehabilitation as the fans see when he’s in the ring.”
Since capturing the WBA super world super middleweight title from Mikkel Kessler in 2009, Ward has been on a fast track to becoming the number one ranked super middleweight in the world, and adding additional pieces of hardware to his trophy case. There is no doubt Ward is anxious to successfully complete his rehab without any hindrances any get back between the ropes to solidify his place as one of the best fighters in the game.
“I really want to thank everyone for all of the prayers and support that my family and I have received. We truly appreciate it and it has helped throughout this process. I can’t wait to get back out there and perform for all my fans and plan to keep everyone updated on my progress. The best is yet to come so stay tuned.”