The upcoming July 8th middleweight title fight between Billy Joe Saunders and Avtandil Khurtsidze at the Copper Box in London has been cancelled.
Khurtsidze has been arrested due to crime syndicate connections to a New York based Russian mafia. The Georgian fighter is not allowed travel abroad, therefore a fight against Saunders is not happening.
The U.S Attorney for the Southern District of New York have released the following statement:
“Today, we have charged 33 members and associates of a Russian organized crime syndicate allegedly engaging a panoply of crimes around the country. The indictments include charges against the alleged head of this national criminal enterprise, one of the first federal racketeering charges ever brought against a Russian ‘vor’ [which refers to an order of elite criminals from the former Soviet Union who receive tribute from other criminals]. The dizzying array of criminal schemes committed by this organized crime syndicate allegedly includes a murder-for-hire conspiracy, a plot to rob victims by seducing and drugging them with chloroform, the theft of cargo shipments containing over 10,000 pounds of chocolate, and a fraud on casino slot machines using electronic hacking devices. Thanks to the remarkable interagency partnership of FBI, CBP, and NYPD, we have charged and arrested 33 defendants allegedly involved in this criminal enterprise.”
Khurtsidze was known as ‘The Kickboxer’ and he is among the 33 men who have been charged.
Promoter Frank Warren has also released a statement concerning this issue:
“Today, Queensberry Promotions were informed that Billy Joe Saunders’ mandatory challenger Avtandil Khurtsidze was yesterday arrested in New York indicted under the RICO Act.
As such, his contest with WBO World Middleweight Champion Billy Joe Saunders scheduled for Saturday, July 8 at the Copper Box Arena, cannot take place on that date as his promoter Lou DiBella has confirmed he will be unable to travel.
The event at the Copper Box Arena on July 8, televised on BT Sport and BoxNation, will still take place and feature fantastic fights including the WBO European Light-Heavyweight Championship contest between Richard Baranyi and Anthony Yarde, the return of teenage Heavyweight sensation Daniel Dubois and the eagerly-anticipated rematch between Darryll Williams and Jahmaine Smyle for the English Super-Middleweight title; with further additions to the card to follow in due course.
We are currently planning to postpone the fight to a later date. However, due to the obvious seriousness of this matter, Queensberry Promotions are given no choice but to wait for more details to emerge before anything can be confirmed.
Further information, including additions to the show, ticketing and refund options, will follow in due course.”