Felix Cash has withdrawn from his fight on the undercard of Derek Chisora 's rematch with Kubrat Pulev tonight just hours before the event takes place.
Cash, 29, was scheduled to defend his international middleweight title against Vaughn Alexander at The O2 arena, but the Brit has been forced to pull out of the fight with a stomach bug. In a lengthy statement he posted to Instagram, Cash revealed his stomach bug has worsened throughout fight week and he vomited several times before weighing in on Friday afternoon.
"I want to address the situation here before any speculation. I have completed a 12 week camp, the camp was great with my team, sparring went to plan," he wrote. Wednesday during fight week I had a stomach bug that felt nothing out of the ordinary.
"During some of my last training sessions before the weigh in the bug symptoms have grown worse. Before the weigh in I vomited multiple times which was concerning to me and my team. We then took a view to get on the scales and rehydrate. I made weight inside the limit as planned and once rehydrated was hoping for the symptoms to relax.
"Unfortunately the symptoms grew worse, I couldn’t keep any food or liquids down and this went on through out the night, during my sleep and in the morning when I woke up. Me and my team took professional advice from a GP. The GP has highly advised for us not to participate in the fight.
"As a team we have taken that advice and will recover, train and go again on the next available Matchroom Bill. This is a hard pill to swallow and against my pride, but I have an experienced team around me who advise and support me at the highest level and ultimately protect me."
Who wins tonight - Derek Chisora or Kubrat Pulev? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below
Cash, who holds a record of 15-0, was looking to pick up his second win of the calendar year against Alexander having outpointed Magomed Madiev in London earlier this year. He added of his withdrawal: "I want to say thank you to my team for the time spent during camp and fight week.
"Thank you Matchroom Boxing and to my opponent for coming over on short notice, we both know this is a real fight and one where we both need to be 100% at our best to win. Finally thanks to the fans, family and friends who purchased tickets to come and watch me tonight. I will be back stronger."
