Lerrone Richards has been forced to pull out of his English super-middleweight title fight with Zack Chelli after suffering a head injury.
The fight, which was set for the undercard of Adam Azim vs Rylan Charlton at Alexandra Palace, has been postponed. It will look to be rescheduled, with Chelli (12-1-1, 6 KOs) now off the bill rather than facing a late replacement.
In a statement released via Richards’ management company, SJAM, they said their fighter became concussed after a fall in his hotel room, although were keen to highlight that it didn’t seem to be the result of a tough weight cut.
“Last night, Lerrone became unwell and fell in his hotel room. He felt great at the weigh-in and had rehydrated well, so the incident was a complete surprise to everyone.”
“He suffered a knock to his head and became concussed. Although he personally wants to box this afternoon against Zak Chelli, we have advised Lerrone together with his trainer Dave Coldwell that he should not box and he is following our advice in line with the protocols and discussions with the British Boxing Board of Control.
“BOXXER support the decision. A fighter’s health always comes first. Lerrone will be sent for an MRI on Monday and we hope to reschedule the bout as soon as possible.”
Richards (16-0, 3 KOs), who recently left promotional company Matchroom to sign with BOXXER, hasn’t been in the ring since defeating Carlos Gongorra to win the IBO super-middleweight title back in December of 2021.
This postponement will close out a year to forget for the talented champion, and, assuming all is well with his upcoming MRI, he’ll be looking to have a statement 2023.