Most last minute cancellation of a notable fight?

[boxing is alive]

What's the closest to fight night (week, days, etc.) that someone has pulled out of a notable fight? Please discuss.

[Russian Crushin]

Dimitrienko passing out 10 mins before his fight with sosnowski in the dressing room?

[boxing is alive]

Dimitrienko passing out 10 mins before his fight with sosnowski in the dressing room?

haha! I think that one takes the cake. I probably should have titled the thread "most last minute cancellations of notable fights Not sure if my memory is right, but didn't Mike Tyson go to jail a week or so before he was supposed to fight Holyfield originally?

[tito_bandito]

Berto vs mosely and Berto vs Ortiz II

[Thread Stealer]

haha! I think that one takes the cake. I probably should have titled the thread "most last minute cancellations of notable fights Not sure if my memory is right, but didn't Mike Tyson go to jail a week or so before he was supposed to fight Holyfield originally?

Nah, it was 3 weeks before the scheduled fight. I remember it, on October 18, 1991, on the same night Ray Mercer almost killed Tommy Morrison. Holyfield-Tyson was originally scheduled for November 8. Tyson pulled out with a rib injury, and Sports Illustrated had an article detailing how he hurt his rib. There were a lot of people who felt (and still feel) that Tyson just pulled out because he couldn't focus on such a big fight with the **** trial coming up. Tyson ended up getting convicted exactly two years after losing to Buster Douglas, on February 10.

The Michael Spinks-Eddie Mustafa Muhammad rematch was cancelled on the day of the fight when Eddie didn't make weight.

A lot of people feel that was really the fight, not Ray Mancini-Duk Koo Kim, which led to the change in weigh-in procedures. A lot of money was lost when that bout got cancelled.

[Thread Stealer]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1121060/index.htm

[JakeNDaBox]

Not sure how high it rates in noteriety, but Donovan George - on advice from Leon Margules - pulled out of last December's scheduled title eliminator w/ Librado Andrade about six hours before the opening bell, due to a dispute over the ring size.

[edgarg]

Not sure how high it rates in noteriety, but Donovan George - on advice from Leon Margules - pulled out of last December's scheduled title eliminator w/ Librado Andrade about six hours before the opening bell, due to a dispute over the ring size.

Didn't Sugar Ray Robinson pull out of a fight with Carmen Basilio because he suddenly demanded more money? (which he eventually got) I think he walked out of the discussions causing Basilio to express life-long animosity against him. I recall one time he said that he'd never fight him again and allow him to make any money with with him. Robinson was a notoriously difficult customer as a middleweight I think.