There has been a change in plans for the comeback of former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik.

Pavlik, who lost the title to Sergio Martinez via decision in April, will still fight in the co-feature on the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito HBO PPV card at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, but instead of facing Daniel Edouard as originally planned, he will face Brian Vera.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said they made the switch when concerns were raised about Edouard's fitness to fight. According to Arum, Edouard collapsed because of a blood pressure problem following a split decision loss to Alfonso Mosquera in his last fight in July in Panama.



"We had him examined and he passed, but the Panamanian commission filled us in on what happened about him collapsing after the last fight and we figured we didn't need the trouble," Arum said. "We'd just rather go in a different direction."


Giovanni Lorenzo, who dropped a decision to middleweight titlist Felix Sturm on Sept. 4 in Germany, was offered the fight with Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs), but turned it down.



The offer was "pretty light" and Lorenzo was concerned about taking an opponent of Pavlik's class so quickly after a hard title fight, Kurt Emhoff, Lorenzo's manager, told ESPN.com.


"We'd only have six to seven weeks to train after just a few weeks off," Emhoff said. "Obviously, that's not ideal timing for a fight with someone the caliber of Kelly Pavlik."



That's where Vera (17-5, 11 KOs), who is from Austin, came in. They'll meet at 164 pounds, according to Cameron Dunkin, Pavlik's co-manager.


Vera, a former participant on "The Contender" reality series, has lost four of his last five fights. The lone win during the slump was an upset third-round knockout of Sebastien Demers on his turf in Montreal on ESPN2. In March 2008, Vera pulled off a major upset, also on ESPN2, when he stopped Andy Lee, heralded prospect and 2004 Irish Olympian, in the seventh round.



"They got the contract back, so the fight is done," Dunkin said. "Tough fight. It's not the guy I wanted, but it was the guy [trainer] Jack Loew wanted, so we did it. I think it's a tougher fight than some of the other guys mentioned. It's a rough fight. I had James Kirkland fight him, so I know what Vera can do, and you know what he did to Andy Lee. He's a real fighter. Kelly has to be in shape and be prepared for a rough fight."