Patrice Evra's boxing debut against YouTube star Adam Saleh has been postponed after Martyn Ford v Iranian Hulk was shelved.
The former Manchester United star was set to step into the ring and make a maiden appearance at the O2 arena on April 30 against Saleh. Ford's long-awaited clash with Iranian Hulk - real name Sajad Gharibi - was dropped from the event last week with the British star appearing to blame his rival.
But now the entire celebrity boxing card has now been cancelled, with Boxstar releasing an official statement on Instagram: "Boxstar, are regrettably postponing the planned event on April 30. The announcement comes after the headline fight was cancelled earlier this week.
"To lose such a big (in every sense of the word) main event has understandably been a blow to the event and to the fans. Due to this, rather than pushing ahead with the April 30, we have instead made the difficult decision to postpone the event. Anyone who has bought tickets for the April 30 show will be entitled to a full refund."
Evra made 379 appearances for the Old Trafford club and also played for Monaco, Juventus, Marseille and West Ham. The left-back also won 81 caps for his country before his retirement in 2019. He planned to try and make a positive appearance in the iron square having recently taken up training to prepare for the event.
His rival has fought three times on major YouTube boxing cards before, winning twice and drawing one during his time in the ring. He also boasts an amateur record in the ring, earning his stripes before his rise to fame on social media - and was prepared to make a huge mark on the London card after his late addition.
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However the event will no longer take place having already been postponed from its original April 2 date to make room for Evra's meeting with Saleh. Headline act Ford was left extremely frustrated with the card's cancellation after training for his boxing debut since October last year.
Despite appearing to place blame on his rival, Gharibi pointed the finger back at Ford and threatened legal action after the event was cancelled. But the British star is now focused on finding a new opponent so he can continue his combat sports plan later this year.
He said during an Instagram video : "This is a statement I didn't want to have to release but my fight is going to be postponed. The event is still going to take place and there is some great people and some great fights on. "But unfortunately my fight will not be one of them due to reasons out of my control.
"It doesn't take a genius to figure them all out, I don't want to talk about it, too much time and energy has been wasted. I am still here and I am still training hard, but there will be a debut and there will be a fight. I am just not 100 per cent sure who or when and why?"
