Floyd Mayweather fighter Viddal Riley has explained the situation after being forced to withdraw from the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. undercard.
The 4-0 cruiserweight was due to fight Orlando Rashad Coulter on the Pay Per View extravaganza, but the gig became impossible to fulfill as the Briton outlined.
Taking to his YouTube platform, Riley spoke directly to his fans to give reassurance about an old injury that reared it’s head once again.
“You will have seen something about me not fighting on the Tyson Jones undercard. That is true,” pointed out Riley. “I won’t be fighting on that card.
“It wasn’t an easy decision to make. I can see how much of an opportunity this fight was and my team and my career.
“When your a professional and you hire people to advise you and to guide you on the right path, there are going to be a ton of decisions that they make that you’re not going to want to agree with.
“But that is the reality of the situation. I had had an injury recur from this time last year when I had to pull out of the Tank vs. Gamboa undercard for the same injury.
“It’s a back injury. I didn’t detail it at the time because I didn’t feel it would be recurring or be a further hindrance in my career. But it is consistently hindering my performance.
“In my lower back, I get extreme pain from nerve compression. I went through a stage in my life where I was lifting a lot of weights, which I didn’t need to do, which shortened the muscles and put a lot of compression on your nerves.”
He continued: “So in January, I went for an embryonic stem cell injection, which is supposed to restore the cells in the area.
“I had it before my fight in February because I was still suffering an injury when I fought Muhammad Abdullah in my fourth fight.
“I had the injection two weeks before the fight, and I hadn’t felt the effects. Yet months later, we were expecting the injection to do its job.
“With lockdown, training was not as intense. I wasn’t able to see if my back would hinder me.
“Going back into camp and the intensity of training increased. That’s when we realized that the injury is still affecting my performance.
“I had to make a decision that could affect my career. I would rather give myself that time and then deliver.
VIDDAL RILEY REPLACEMENT
“My replacement has been announced. I will say right now that I want my next flight to be against the winner of that contest.
Hasim Rahman Jr. is that replacement for what is still an interesting undefeated 200-pound clash.
Provided all goes well with Viddal Riley’s recovery; it wouldn’t be surprising to see another ample opportunity come his way in 2021.
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