Bad news hit boxing on Thursday as US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson both addressed their respective nations.
As the majority of American media blamed Trump for spreading false information, Johnson was delivering a sober message to the British public.
Johnson confirmed that the UK will not reach the peak of coronavirus until mid-June and won’t see a difference until the end of that month.
This means that measures in place now, including self-isolation and social distancing, are expected to get even tighter as COVID-19 escalates.
The US contingent can expect it to be even worse if it’s that bad for the UK.
Boxing postponed
The US and UK are reportedly just a couple of weeks behind Italy and Spain. Both countries can expect thousands more cases until that peak is eventually reached.
Therefore, boxing’s many, many postponements from March and April are almost certain to continue into May. Possibly even until the beginning of July.
Several events planned for the first week of May have already been called off. They include Canelo vs. Billy Joe Saunders, John Taylor’s Scotland return, and others.
As things stand, new dates for events have pointed to July being the target date to kickstart the fighting season again. But that means almost four months of nothing.
Dillian Whyte vs. Alexander Povetkin, Oleksandr Usyk vs. Derek Chisora, Jose Ramirez vs. Viktor Postol, Jamel Herring vs. Carl Frampton, and Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev, to name a few, are set to need new dates for when we finally get back underway.
DROUGHT
The boxing community initially thought the drought would only last up to six weeks. But that is now set to double as the US and UK see a sharp rise in the pandemic.
Looking at the sporting calendar, many high-profile events have already been canceled. They include the Premier League, Euro 2020, Kentucky Derby, and Grand National.
Boxing fans are already craving their fix of action after just ten days. So facing another twelve weeks is a disaster for all concerned.
The World Boxing Super Series Final will take place this weekend in Riga. Instead, everyone is coming to terms with a further delay and half the summer without a big fight night.
