The all-British fight between light-heavyweights Joshua Buatsi and Dan Azeez has been postponed after Azeez suffered a back injury in training.
Buatsi, 30, and Azeez, 33, were set to fight in a final eliminator at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday for the right to meet WBA world champion Dmitry Bivol.
“I’m devastated for this to happen on fight week,” said Azeez, who is ranked second with the WBA with Buatsi first.
Details of the fight being rescheduled are yet to be announced.
“It still hasn’t sunk in,” said Azeez. “I’ve never had to withdraw from a fight in my career before.
“I want to apologise to all the fans, especially those travelling to the fight.
“I am also extremely sorry to my opponent Joshua Buatsi, to my promoter and to everyone involved who has worked so hard on this date. I hope this fight can be rescheduled as soon as possible.”
The undefeated Londoners, who are friends outside the ring, started out at the same amateur boxing club in south London.Fans have been calling for the pair to fight for some time.
Azeez – the English, Commonwealth and European champion – has 20 straight wins under his belt as a pro, while 2016 Olympic bronze medallist Buatsi has won all 17 of his pro fights.
The bout would have been the first time either boxer had fought in a venue as large as the O2 and promotional outfit Boxxer said more than 10,000 fans were set to attend the event.
Boxxer founder and CEO Ben Shalom said: “This is a big shock. I know that Dan [Azeez] would do anything to be in the ring on Saturday night and for this to happen at this stage is devastating.
“This is a huge fight for British boxing, but the health and safety of our fighters must come first. My heart goes out to Dan and Joshua, who have both completed tough camps, and to the fans.”
