The Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury card has suffered a last-minute setback, with a change being made just weeks before the event.
The championship clash between Usyk and Fury headlines a stacked card from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on December 21.
It's a rematch of their May showdown where Usyk edged out Fury by split-decision to become the undisputed world heavyweight king.
Usyk vs. Fury is just weeks away and ahead of their second meeting, the co-main event has fallen through.
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Israil Madrimov, who lost to Terence Crawford in his last outing, was due to meet Serhii Bohachuk in the featured bout of the undercard.
However, Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh has revealed that doctors diagnosed the former world champion of acute bronchitis, forcing him to withdraw from his scheduled clash against Bohachuk.
British fighter Ishmael Davis has subsequently replaced Madrimov, who will return against WBC interim super-welterweight title holder and unbeaten star Vergil Ortiz on February 22.
On X, Alalshikh wrote: "It was confirmed by doctors this evening that Israil Madrimov is suffering from acute bronchitis and has to withdraw from the Dec 21 fight with Bohachuk. British fighter Ishmael Davis will replace Madrimov who will now rest and recover for his scheduled fight on Feb 22 fight with Vergil Ortiz."
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Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn also provided clarity on the undercard change as he explained why Madrimov pulled out of his fight against Bohachuk.
"Obviously, I know everyone is a conspiracy theorist. Israil Madrimov was 100 per cent fighting Bohachuk, and then 100 per cent fighting [Vergil] Ortiz, provided he won and was in good shape," he said on iFL TV.
"He had acute bronchitis. He went to the hospital. He hasn’t been well. It was diagnosed. He wanted to fight Bohachuk. I went back to His Excellency. He said, 'Who is ready?' His Excellency loves Ishmael Davis because he took the Josh Kelly [fight] on one week’s notice. He said, 'Give me three or four options'. I gave him three or four options
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"He came back and said, 'Let’s go with Ishmael Davis'. First of all, [he fought] Josh Kelly on one week’s notice [on September 21st and lost a 12-round majority decision at Wembley Stadium in London]. The difference is that he wasn’t fit against Josh Kelly. He wasn’t really in camp.
"He’s supposed to be fighting on fight week in Riyadh on the card [on December 21st]. This [time], he’s got two weeks’ notice against Bohachuk.
"Obviously, Bohachuk is a different kind of fighter to Josh, but we’re up for it. Ishmael Davis, in two months, has made a fortune, and I couldn’t be more happy for him."
Topics: Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Boxing
Nasir Jabbar