Eleider Alvarez has suffered shoulder injury that will cause him to delay his July 16, 2020 bout with title contender Joe Smith Jr. The bout was planned to be a title eliminator for the WBO Light Heavyweight Title. When the bout does take place, the winner will fight the victor of the Umar Salamov-Maxim Vlasov bout for the 175-pound belt.
“The former WBO light heavyweight champion, Eleider Alvarez, was injured in training last week,” Alvarez’s promoter, Yvon Michel, said.
“Last Tuesday he met with the team’s doctor, Dr. Francis Fontaine … and the diagnosis shows an injury to the right shoulder which requires anti-inflammatory treatments, physiotherapy and a stop in sparring for 4 weeks,” Michel added.
“Doctor Fontaine is confident of complete rehabilitation in a few weeks but for coach Marc Ramsay the fact that he cannot allow adequate preparation for his boxer against a dangerous opponent like Smith Jr. in a fight of such great importance, the decision to request a postponement of the fight was necessary,” he concluded.
Top Rank has reportedly known about this development since Wednesday. No make-up date for the bout has been determined.
