Light heavyweight contenders Eleider Alvarez and Joe Smith Jr. reportedly will fight late next month.
They were scheduled to meet on July 16 in the MGM Grand bubble in Las Vegas but Alvarez pulled out with an injury to his right shoulder. Yvon Michel, Alvarez’s promoter, told ESPN that his fighter has recovered and he’ll be ready to fight soon.
“I sent a medical report on Alvarez’s situation early last week confirming that the inflammation is gone after treatment, the pain is minimum,” Michel said. “He’s going to start sparring next week, everything is under control. He’s fit and ready to fight by mid-August.
“So the message I got from Top Rank is that the fight will be rescheduled for some time between Aug. 20 and Aug. 22, depending on the schedule.”
Smith and his handlers evidently are willing to fight regardless of the date.
“It’s not ideal, it’s not what we wanted,” Smith promoter Joe DeGuardia told ESPN. “We think it’s unfortunate it got pushed back in the first place. However, we’re realists. I just want this fight to take place, and we’re going to do what we have to do to get Joe ready and have this fight.”
Alvarez (25-1, 13 KOs) last fought on Jan. 18, when he stopped Michael Seals in seven rounds. The Montreal-based Colombian lost his 175-pound belt to Sergey Kovalev in February of last year.
Smith (25-3, 20 KOs) defeated Jesse Hart by a split decision in his most-recent fight, on Jan. 11.