Joe Smith Jr. vs Callum Johnson is off
Callum Johnson (20-1, 14KOs) is out of his world title fight against WBO light heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr. (27-3, 21KOs) after contracting Covid-19.
The Briton was due to fight the American on January 15 in New York in his second bid at a world title.
'The One' was only one week away from his big shot against the Long Islander, but after testing positive for COVID-19, he has subsequenty been forced to withdraw from what was set to be the first World championship contest of 2022.
"It's a real great shame for Callum," promoter Frank Warren told BBC Sport.
"Hopefully we can get him back in, they may want to [reschedule the fight] in late spring. He worked really hard to get the opportunity."
Promoters Top Rank are confident of finding a new opponent for Smith Jr. with Londoner Craig Richards already throwing his name in the hat, despite such short notice.
The news will be a massive blow to WBO Global champion Johnson, who turns 37 this summer and might struggle to convince the champion to rebook their fight.
British light heavyweight Anthony Yarde is number one in the WBO's rankings and Warren – who promotes both Yarde and Johnson – expects the Londoner, also a world title contender, to be next in line to take on the champion.
"If Callum doesn't get his shot then Anthony Yarde is next," he said.
"I'd love to do Joe Smith v Anthony Yarde in the UK. The WBO say there is a mandatory due and it's going to be Yarde. He is the number one.
"Anthony looked so good in his last fight against Lyndon Arthur. We've got him down to fight sometime in March anyway. Fingers crossed.
"We'll see what happens next week with Smith and how he comes through. Then go from there.
"I want to keep Anthony busy. We want to get the world title shot for him. The experience he's gained since [fighting] Sergey Kovalev stands him in good stead. He really gives Smith so many problems."
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