After initially declaring it was going forward with its boxing events without fans inside the Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden due to the coronavirus outbreak, Top Rank released a statement Thursday evening saying that Saturday's card featuring Shakur Stevenson vs. Miguel Marriaga and Tuesday's St. Patrick's Day card, highlighted by Mick Conlan vs. Belmar Preciado, will no longer be taking place.
"After close consultation with the New York State Athletic Commission, it has been determined that Saturday’s and Tuesday’s events cannot proceed in light of the ongoing coronavirus crisis," Top Rank said in a press release. "Top Rank will work with the commission to reschedule the events as soon as it is safe for all involved. The health and safety of the fighters and their teams, and everyone involved in the promotion of these events, necessitated taking this step. We thank everyone for their understanding, and we will continue to work with our broadcast/venue partners and state and local officials to decide when the time is right to return."
With the World Health Organization announcing the coronavirus is now a pandemic, major sports organizations such as the NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS and the ATP have suspended their ongoing seasons, and the NCAA has canceled the men's and women's basketball tournaments.
Earlier on Thursday, Top Rank had stated that the fights would go on without fans in attendance, before making the change to postpone the events altogether later in the day. Stevenson was to defend his WBO featherweight title vs. Marriaga.
As of Thursday morning, there have been 1,323 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, along with 38 deaths in the United States. Globally, the total confirmed cases are now over 127,000, with the number of deaths at 4,717.