(Montreal) The August 19 boxing gala at the Videotron Center, during which world champion Artur Beterbiev was to fight a light heavyweight unification bout against Callum Smith, has been postponed after Beterbiev suffered an infection .
Camille Estephan, president of Eye of the Tiger Management (EOTTM), announced the news on Sunday afternoon, in a press release.
According to EOTTM, Beterbiev had to undergo emergency surgery on Sunday morning following a “major jawbone infection”.
The WBC, IBF and WBO world champion being on forced rest for a few weeks, EOTTM and Top Rank have made the decision to postpone the gala.
The new date will be announced shortly.
According to Estephan, the news was received as a “real blow” at EOTTM.
“Artur absolutely wanted to fight but the surgery being mandatory, the postponement of the fight became inevitable,” explained Estephan, in the press release.
Beterbiev has a perfect professional career record with 19 wins in as many outings. He won all his fights before the limit.
His duel against Smith, in which he would put his three belts on the line, was to be his first since his victory against Anthony Yarde, in England, last January.
Smith, who hails from Liverpool, has a record of 29 wins and one loss, with 21 knockouts.
EOTTM had promised a high card for this gala, with fights that were to involve Simon Kean and Christian Mbilli, among others.