According to insider Dan Rafael, the bout for the vacant WBA junior middleweight title (up to 69.85 kg) between Israil Madrimov (9-0-1, 6 KOs) and Magomed Kurbanov (25-0, 13 KOs) has been cancelled. The fight was scheduled to take place on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) vs. Francis Ngannou (0-1) match, but Madrimov was not cleared due to issues with a medical examination conducted by the BBBofC – the regulatory body for the event.
In his last fight, which took place in April of the previous year against Raphael Igbokwe (17-5, 7 KOs), Madrimov won by unanimous decision. Kurbanov won by split decision against Michel Soro (35-4-2, 24 KOs).
The heavyweight bout between Joshua and Ngannou will take place on March 8 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.