Contrary to reports Callum Johnson will not face Radivoje Kalajdzic on March 19 in London.
The two former world title challengers, who fought IBF champion Artur Beterbiev in October 2018 and May 2019, were due to face one another on a Queensberry show on BT Sport. However, news has reached Boxing Social that Johnson withdrew last night (Tuesday) due to an injury.
Details of the injury itself were unavailable at time of writing but all should be made clearer later today (Wednesday). Queensberry are working on a replacement for Johnson’s slot on the card.
It is a second consecutive blow to Johnson in 2022 after he pulled out of a world title fight last month. The 36-year-old was scheduled to face WBO champion Joe Smith Jr on January 15 in New York but could not travel to the USA after testing positive for Covid-19. Late replacement Steve Geffrard stepped in to face Smith but was soundly beaten in nine rounds. The American now hopes for a unification clash against WBC and IBF champion Artur Beterbiev.
Johnson is currently ranked number five with the WBO and a win against Kalajdzic would have maintained his top ten status and kept him within touching distance of another world title opportunity. His Queensberry stable-mate Anthony Yarde shot up the rankings to become the official number one contender to Smith following his win over Lyndon Arthur in December. Yarde hopes to secure the world title fight this year but in the meantime the Londoner is set to return before Spring as he looks to remain active.