By Rick Reeno
Richard Schaefer, CEO for Golden Boy Promotions, spoke to BoxingScene.com about the unexpected reshuffling of their now canceled May 19th event, which was scheduled to take place at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The HBO televised doubleheader was going to feature a junior welterweight rematch between Amir Khan and WBA/IBF champion Lamont Peterson, and WBO super featherweight king Adrien Broner was going to defend his title against Gary Sykes in the co-feature.
This past Monday, the event suffered a major blow when the Nevada State Atheltic Commission became aware, through VADA [Voluntary Anti-Doping Association], that Peterson tested postive for synthetic testosterone. The Nevada commission refused to license Peterson and the May event was officially canceled on Wednesday.
Khan (26-2, 18KOs) will now return to action on either July 7th or July 14th, against an opponent to be determined. Schaefer is in the process of finalizing the date with HBO. In terms of the venue, the Mandalay Bay is available on July 14, but the venue is hosting a UFC event on the July 7.
Broner (23-0, 19KOs) will make his return to HBO on July 21st in his hometown of Cincinnati, against Vicente Escobedo (25-3, 15KOs) - provided Escobedo defeats Juan Ruiz (23-9, 7KOs) this Saturday night in Woodland, California.