Despite the cancellation of the main event between Abner Mares and Joseph Agbeko for the championship of its bantamweight tournament, Showtime has decided to go ahead with its fight card on Saturday at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.
Agbeko developed a case of sciatica on Monday after a long flight from New York and was determined to be medically unfit to fight on Wednesday by physician Richard S. Gluckman.
Golden Boy Promotions attempted to find another opponent for Mares and offered a shot to Tomoki Kameda. But Kameda has a May bout scheduled in Japan and turned down the fight.
As a result, Mares will be off the card and Showtime will elevate the third-place bout between former champions Vic Darchinyan and Yohnny Perez to the main event. The broadcast will begin at 10:30 p.m. ET.
?It is hard for me to explain the deep disappointment I have right now,? Agbeko stated. ?This fight is everything to me, everything I have worked for my whole career. To have this opportunity taken away from me is devastating.?
Alan Hopper, a spokesman for Don King Productions, said it hasn?t been determined if or when Agbeko and Mares will be rescheduled.
?We want to do that, but it is a decision, ultimately, that is up to Showtime,? Hopper said.
Showtime Sports general manager Ken Hershman is on vacation in Italy. No decision will likely be made until he returns.
