With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to run rampant around the world, it shouldn't come as a surprise that boxing bouts have to be rescheduled.
On Monday, Matchroom Boxing announced that it's rescheduling all events slated for May, headlined by Dillian Whyte vs. Alexander Povetkin at Manchester Arena on May 2, Lee Selby vs. George Kambosos Jr. at the Motorpoint Arena Cardiff on May 9 and Oleksandr Usyk vs. Derek Chisora at The O2 in London on May 23.
"The health and safety of the boxers, staff, event contractors and fans involved with our events remains the top priority for Matchroom Boxing and we thank everyone for their understanding," said a statement from Matchroom Boxing. "We look forward to bringing world class boxing events back to these shores as soon as it is safe to do so."
As of now, those cards have been rescheduled for the following dates: Whyte vs. Povetkin on Saturday, July 4 and Selby vs. Kambosos on Saturday, July 11, while Matchroom continues to work on a new date for the heavyweight tilt between Usyk vs. Chisora. The Whyte vs. Povetkin card includes the big co-main event between undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano.
Chisora took to his Twitter account in reaction to the postponement due to COVID-19.
While boxing — and to a large degree, society as a whole — continues to take a backseat to the coronavirus pandemic, perhaps Matchroom Boxing USA president Eddie Hearn advises best with the hashtag "#StayPositive."