Khalil Coe will have to wait a little longer for his U.S. homecoming fight.
The 29-year-old “Big Steppa” has been forced to withdraw from his 10-round light heavyweight fight on October 11 against Jesse Hart due to what he described on social media as “an ongoing injury.” The fight was to serve as the co-feature to the Jaron Ennis vs. Uisma Lima junior middleweight fight at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, which is about a two-hour drive from Coe's hometown of Jersey City, New Jersey.
“I want to apologize to everyone that was coming to see me go to battle on October 11,” Coe, 10-1-1 (8 KOs), wrote Thursday on his Instagram page. “However there will still be a lot of fireworks on the card.”
The fight was to be Coe’s first since his sixth-round stoppage in Guadalajara, Mexico of Manuel Gallegos this past May, which avenged his first defeat, a ninth-round stoppage loss at the Wells Fargo Center last November. David McWater, who manages Coe, says Coe “busted up his hand” and adds that there is no return date in mind yet, and that they hope to get more information about the extent of the injury next week when Coe visits a specialist.
Few were more disappointed by the news than Hart, 31-3 (25 KOs), a Philadelphia-based fighter who had fans coming to see him try to take a step towards his sixth straight win - and potentially a third world title opportunity. The 36-year-old says he’s still looking to stay on the Matchroom Boxing-promoted card and is hoping a replacement opponent is found.
“I just feel like if he’s saying he had an ongoing injury, why sign a contract? Ongoing means you had this injury for quite some time now,” said Hart, who is hoping to end an 18-month layoff.
“I just feel like he knew he was gonna lose.”
In that fight’s place, the 10-round heavyweight showdown between Alexis Barriere and Guido Vianello will take its spot as the co-featured bout on the DAZN broadcast, a Matchroom source tells BoxingScene.
Barriere, 12-0 (10 KOs), of Quebec City, Canada, will be fighting for the first time since signing a co-promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing, plus Groupe Yvon Michel and Goldstar Promotions. The 30-year-old southpaw is coming off a sixth-round stoppage of Ubaldo Ilagor Resendiz in February, while the 31-year-old Vianello, 13-3-1 (11 KOs), of Rome, Italy is looking to bounce back from his unanimous decision loss to Richard Torrez Jnr this past April in Las Vegas.
