Bedford boxing talent, Michael Stephenson must now wait until November for his next fight after his planned debut on Sky Sports was cancelled at the final moment due to an injury to his opponent.
Leon Hughes, currently undefeated in his professional career, suffered a thumb injury in pre-fight camp meaning the fight on the undercard of Zuffa Boxing’s 11th event at the Copper Box Arena in London will not take place.
The bout has been provisionally rearranged for Saturday, 7 November.
Saturday’s card will still go ahead with a three-fight preliminary card ahead of the main event which features former WBA inter-continental heavyweight title holder, Johnny Fisher.
“Devastated”
Stephenson’s frustration was evident in a statement he released on his social media channels yesterday (Thursday).
“I honestly don’t know how to put into words how devastated I am”, said Stephenson.
“On Tuesday (22 September), I arrived at my hotel for fight week feeling excited, focused, and ready for the biggest fight of my career.
“I checked in at 2.30pm, then within 45 minutes of being there, everything changed.
“I received the call that Leon had withdrawn from our fight due to a damaged thumb. Going from the excitement of arriving for the biggest fight of my life to suddenly being told it wasn’t happening is a feeling I can’t properly describe.
“I genuinely wish Leon a full and speedy recovery, health always comes first.
“But I have to be honest about my feelings. Pulling out on the Tuesday, just four days before we were due to fight on the Saturday is incredibly disappointing and, from my perspective, extremely unprofessional.
“I’ve sacrificed so much for this moment. Months of training, countless hours away from family, pushing through pain and giving everything I have to be ready.
“I was and still am extremely confident going into this fight. I believed I was going to win, and I truly believed this opportunity would have changed my life.
“To have that taken away so suddenly, just days before we were due to go into the cage, is heartbreaking.”
More waiting for Stephenson
The latest update is a frustrating one for Stephenson, who has already come through a 19-month lay off due to a serious hand injury.
His comeback fight in July was a relatively straightforward one, defeating Loen Mitchell in Northampton, but he had hoped to continue his rise to the big events with his Sky debut this weekend under the rising Zuffa Boxing brand.
Read: Stephenson wins on boxing return after 19-month injury layoff
The fact it was against an undefeated boxer in Hughes did little to perturb the 33-year old, who is beginning to get a taste for the big stages, which largely began in the 15,000-capacity BP Pulse Live Arena in Birmingham at the back end of 2024.
That defeat to the then unbeaten Troy Jones may have been a third loss in his professional career, but it was for the English light-heavyweight title, and he pushed the home favourite all the way.
Now, he’ll have to wait a further six weeks for his shot at another unbeaten fighter in Leon Hughes, assuming he recovers in time, hoping to catch the eye of American UFC owner, Dana White who is the head of Zuffa Boxing.
The remaining fights in Zuffa Boxing 11 kick off at 7pm on Saturday (26 September).
