By Bill "Two Scoops" Emes

WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward had hoped to face Carl Froch in a rematch, but the Nottingham fighter was unavailable. The WBA had ordered Froch, the 'regular' champion at 168-pounds, to face Ward in a mandatory fight. Froch is taking time off and nobody knows when he intends to return, if ever.

Ward (27-0, 14KOs) is now scheduled to face another Brit, two time title challenger Paul Smith (35-5, 20KOs) on June 20th at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. BET will televise the contest as part of their new boxing series with Roc Nation Sports, who earlier this year signed Ward to a promotional contract.

Froch was hoping to face Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in a Las Vegas clash in the summer. That plan went up in smoke when the Mexican star was dominated and stopped last weekend by Andrzej Fonfara. 

"We're fighting on June 20th, at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California against a tough, tough competitor Paul Smith. He just fell short against Arthur Abraham in Germany. Paul Smith is gonna bring it and I have to be ready for that. We couldn't find Carl Froch. He seems to be on an extended vacation, so we took the next best guy in Paul Smith," Ward told BoxingScene.com.