Martin Rogan's WBU heavyweight title clash against Panama's Lewis Andreas Pineda scheduled for the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on the 27th of October is off. The British Boxing Board of Control is understood to have refused to sanction the bout amid doubts over the ownership of the WBU belt. Separate organizations in the US and Germany are both claiming jurisdiction over the lightly-regarded belt.

The 40-year-old's announcement of the fight had come as a major surprise. Rogan was attempting to sell the fight on the basis that a victory would make him Northern Ireland's first ever heavyweight champion of the world. However, the WBU belt is well down the pecking order of the various boxing world governing bodies. Rogan said he was puzzled by the British Boxing Board's stance.

"This has come as a bolt from the blue for me," said Rogan the BBC.

Rogan confirmed that his date at the Odyssey Arena next month remains booked and the fighter is looking at other options.