By Mark Vester
It was billed as one of the best main events in the history of promoter Lou DiBella's Broadway Boxing series, but super middleweight Omar Sheika (26-8, 17 KOs) was unable to "weight" until June 20 to face Jaidon Codrington (15-1, 11 KOs).
As reported by Keith Idec in the Herald News , Sheika's handlers convinced him to pull out after it became clear that Sheika would not be able to make "safe" weight for the fight. According to Sheika's handlers, he shed off 20-pounds since he began training for the fight in May, and still had to lose 15-pounds by Tuesday's weigh-in. The bout was scheduled for a contract weight of 171-pounds.
Codrington's handlers agreed to push the contract weight to 175-pounds, making it a light heavyweight contest. Sheika's handlers felt it was too dangerous for their fighter to put himself through hell in order to lose the additonal 10-pounds by the weigh-in.
Dibella should be announcing a replacement. Sheika would like the Codrington fight to be rescheduled for later in the year, but DiBella tells Idec that Sheika should not campaign as a super middleweight for safety reasons.
"After this," DiBella said, "I would say that it's safe to assume his days as a 168-pounder are over."