Beterbiev Suffers Injury, Pulled From 11/28 SHO Bill
Posted by: Jake Donovan on 10/20/2015 .
>>>Click Here For Tons of More Breaking Boxing News, Articles and Insider Information<<<
By Jake Donovan
The long and exhausting search in securing an opponent for Artur Beterbiev is finally over. So, too, is any hope of fighting for the rest of the year.
An injury suffered to his right shoulder during training has forced the unbeaten light heavyweight contender to withdraw from a planned title eliminator on November 28 in Quebec City .
Beterbiev suffered the injury while training for a proposed showdown with Igor Mikhalkin, with their bout due to serve as chief support of a Showtime Championship Boxing broadcast. The news was confirmed by Beterbiev’s press office.
"Under my supervision, Artur had a magnetic resonance examination Friday,” explained Dr. Francis Fontaine. “After a meeting this morning, we have decided that Artur’s surgery would be performed, in the next few days, by excellent specialist Dr. Baillargeon. We expect a complete recovery followed by a return in the ring at the beginning of 2016.”
Added Yvon Michel, Beterbiev’s promoter: "We have absolute confidence in our medical staff, including the talented Dr. Baillargeon. This is the same doctor that saved the shoulder, which was in a really worst state, and the career of Jean Pascal, in January 2010. Seven months later, Jean defended his title belt, in a spectacular fashion, against Chad Dawson.”
The rest of the card remains intact, with James DeGale making the first defense of his super middleweight crown versus local favorite and former champ Lucian Bute. In a separate light heavyweight eliminator, Eleider Alvarez and Isaac Chilemba meet in a 12-round affair to establish the mandatory challenger to World champion Adonis Stevenson.
Beterbiev (9-0, 9KOs) was in line to challenge Sergey Kovalev, widely regarded as the best light heavyweight on the planet. Plans for a head-on collision hit a wall, as Beterbiev’s team decided it was in the fighter’s best interest to first take one more fight on the contender level.
The move led to a strung-out chain of events in landing an opponent for the IBF-sanctioned eliminator. Among those declining the offer for a variety of reasons include: former two-division champ and future Hall of Fame legend Bernard Hopkins; former champ and Beterbiev training stablemate Jean Pascal; unbeaten contender Seanie Monaghan; and Sullivan Barrera, who was willing to take the fight but is unable to travel to Canada – Beterbiev’s home base - due to legal issues.
Former title challenger Karo Murat was on board to accept assignment, only for the IBF to realize it had inadvertently skipped over Mikhalkin, who just fought earlier this month but was willing to jump right back into the mix.
There is no longer a reason to rush into such a fight, as Beterbiev – who is coming off of a knockout win in June – is now benched for the rest of the year.
"I am extremely frustrated and disappointed by the situation,” admitted Beterbiev. “I was preparing myself hard to give another great show to the fans, November 28… I will be back stronger in 2016.”