Liam Smith's rematch with Chris Eubank Jr has been postponed for a second time.
The pair were scheduled to clash on July 1 at the AO Arena in Manchester, but the fight will no longer go ahead due to an injury Smith has picked up.
The 34-year-old stopped Eubank Jr in January, and the rematch was initially scheduled for June 17. However, it had been delayed by two weeks to give Smith more time to recover from an injury he had picked up during his training camp.
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However, BOXXER confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that the fight has been postponed again to allow 'Beefy' more time to recover from his 'nagging injury'. The rest of the bill will stay the same, with Savannah Marshall's undisputed world title clash against Franchon Crews-Dezurn now taking the main event spot.
Natasha Jonas will make a defence of her unified WBO, WBC and IBF super-welterweight titles, with Ben Whittaker and Callum Simpson also set to feature on the card.
"I asked BOXXER to put a big card together for this pay-per-view rematch with Chris Eubank Jr and they more than delivered, so I’m honestly delighted that BOXXER is keeping the card together—most promoters wouldn’t do that, I think," Smith said.
"I’ve always said a fully-fit Liam Smith beats Chris Eubank Jr every day of the week and twice on Sunday. I tried training through it because I didn’t want to let anyone down, but my team have decided to withdraw me following the latest medical assessment.
"I’ll heal up now, and then the fully-fit Liam Smith will be back later this year to give Chris his second beating."
Promoter Ben Shalom said: "Nobody is more disappointed than Liam Smith. He's the ultimate professional, but he respects his team's decision to postpone the bout.
"We’re working on a new date for the fight and hope to announce that in a week or so. In the meantime, we’ve got some huge fights taking place in Manchester on July 1."
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