Liam Smith has been forced to withdraw from his bout with Josh Kelly on the Sept. 21 Daniel Dubois-Anthony Joshua undercard due to a virus, a source close to the situation confirmed to BoxingScene on Friday.
The 36-year-old from Liverpool, England, was set to meet Kelly in a middleweight 12-rounder, but potential replacements for the veteran are now being considered. At the time of this writing, Adam Booth, trainer of Kelly, told BoxingScene they were still awaiting the name of Kelly's new opponent.
Smith (33-4-1, 20 KOs) and a former WBO junior middleweight titleholder, was last seen in a ring in September last year when he was stopped in 10 rounds by Chris Eubank Jr., the fighter he had knocked out in four rounds eight months previously.
Smith, who struggled to make weight, looked a shadow of his old self in the Eubank rematch and has subsequently claimed he was persuaded to take that contest against his better judgement.
ADD COMMENT VIEW COMMENTS (20)