By Ryan Songalia

An ankle injury complicated by chronic plantar fascitis is to blame for Jason Estrada's withdrawal from his April 16 bout in Memphis against Tony Thompson, said Estrada's trainer/father Dr. Roland Estrada. BoxingScene editor Rick Reeno reported on Tuesday that Cedric Boswell and Dominick Guinn are possible replacements.

Dr. Estrada, who is also an optometrist, said the Providence, RI heavyweight has been plagued by the inflammatory ailment since the 2004 Olympics, where Estrada represented America in the super-heavyweight division.

Estrada said his son had "gotten used to" walking on the outside of his right foot to avoid putting pressure on the sole. They feel that act probably led to the swelling of his ankle that hindered training camp.

"I said, 'Let me have an ankle specialist look at it.' [The ankle specialist] said that the ankle wasn't that bad but the plantar fascitis doesn't let it heal. He has a bump on the bottom of his foot formed by the muscles of his foot protruding through and they're going to remove the bump. He should be wearing an air boot for two and a half weeks and then he'll begin rehab. He won't be out too long but he definitely won't make it for April 16."

Dr. Estrada stated that the surgery on his foot will take place next week but that a pre-operation meeting scheduled for tomorrow was postponed due to flooding at the surgeon's office.

"Big Six" Estrada, 29, is 16-3 (4 KO) and is coming off a competitive bout with former two-division champ Tomasz Adamek in February. Thompson is 33-2 (21 KO).

"It was a really good fight for us. Tony Thompson and Jason are good friends, they've sparred together a few times. I tried to call [Thompson and trainer Barry Hunter] this week because I felt kinda bad when the fight wasn't happening. I wasn't able to get in touch with them, though. We'll do it a little later on down the line."

Calls to Hunter were not immediately returned. -RS

Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com . An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com .