Albert Ramirez has had to pull out of Thursday’s fight in Montreal against Englishman Lerrone Richards.
Ramirez was hospitalised on Tuesday night and is being monitored by doctors. Medics believe it could be appendicitis.
He and Richards were due to fight for Ramirez’s WBA interim 175lbs crown, but Olympian and WBC Continental light heavyweight champion Mehmet
Unal will now headline Thursday night’s event against European champion Altin Zogaj.
Richards arrived in Montreal with trainer Dave Coldwell earlier this week.
“I’m devastated for him,” Coldwell told BoxingScene. “I can’t believe it.”
“This is a heartbreaking decision for us, for boxing fans, and especially for Albert, who was absolutely determined to fight despite everything.
However, it is our responsibility as promoters to protect the health of our athletes, which is why this was the decision that had to be made,” commented Camille Estephan.
Unal is 14-0 (12 KOs) while Zogaj is 17-0 (9 KOs).
Unal boxed for Turkey at the 2016 Olympics in Rio and joined the Canadian promotional outfit in 2021. He lives in Montreal and trains under Marc Ramsay.
The co-features sees another former Olympian, Dzmitry Asanau – who is 11–0 (5 KOs) – defend his WBC Continental lightweight title against Spain’s Carlos Ramos, who is 18–3–1 (10 KOs). Asanau is currently ranked No. 4 by the WBC and No. 11 by the IBF.
