The highly-anticipated undisputed showdown between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol has unfortunately been postponed, and now the full injury that Beterbiev has suffered has been revealed.
After years of anticipation, Beterbiev and Bivol were set to meet on June 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the undisputed light-heavyweight titles.
Fans will have to wait even longer though, after an injury to the WBC, IBF and WBO champion meant that the fight has had to be pushed back.
The reason for the delay has now been revealed, after ESPN reported that Beterbiev suffered a ruptured meniscus and is set to undergo knee surgery and will be side-lined until at least September.
WBA champion Bivol may still remain on the June 1 card, with a replacement opponent currently being sought, but the hope is that the undisputed showdown will still be able to take place later this year.
It isn’t the first time that Beterbiev has forced to postpone fights due to injuries, with his recent bouts with Callum Smith and Anthony Yarde also having to be pushed back from the original dates they were set for.
The rest of the card in Riyadh next month will still go ahead, as Matchroom and Queensberry take part in the 5 vs. 5 event, that is topped by Deontay Wilder taking on Zhilei Zhang.
Wilder will represent Matchroom while Zhang is part of Queensberry, with the other fights seeing Filip Hrgovic meet Daniel Dubois, Ray Ford face Nick Ball, Ammo Williams meet Hamzah Sheeraz and Craig Richards take on Willy Hutchinson.
It’s the second of two massive events taking place in Saudi Arabia over the next month, as Tyson Fury meets Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight titles on May 18.
Boxing Social is now on WhatsApp! Join our channel by clicking here and getting all the latest boxing news direct to your phone.