Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik has called off his WBC and WBO title defence against Paul Williams because of a lingering knuckle injury on his left hand, the fight promoters said on Wednesday.

Pavlik, 27, had been scheduled to face Williams in a Dec. 5 clash in Atlantic City.

"We were advised that Kelly Pavlik's recovery of his left hand has not progressed as projected," Top Rank president Todd duBoef said in a statement. "As a result of this, Kelly is unable to close his left hand which prohibits him from being prepared.

"Once Pavlik is cleared medically... we will pursue all avenues with regards to a future bout."
Pavlik, whose 35-1 record includes 31 wins within the distance, has not fought since February because of an injured knuckle that got infected.

He believes he first suffered the injury in October last year when he lost a 12-round decision to Bernard Hopkins in a light-heavyweight tilt. Pavlik went on to stop Marco Rubio in the ninth round of his second middleweight defence.

Williams, a 28-year-old southpaw with an aggressive style, has a 37-1 record and stopped 27 of his opponents.

In his last bout, he won a lopsided unanimous decision over twice junior middleweight champion Winky Wright.