Callum Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) has pulled out of his battle against the undefeated Pawel Stepien (18-0-1, 12 KOs) on March 11 at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England, in a situation similar to Dillian Whyte's withdrawal from his bout with Otto Wallin in 2022 due to an injury.
Whatever the nature of Callum Smith's injury, he can now wait for his WBC-mandated championship shot and money against IBF, WBC, and WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev without worrying about missing out on the chance.
On social media, several boxing fans have seen an interesting similarity between Callum's injury and Whyte's decision to withdraw from his fight with Wallin last year when he was about to go on to fight against Tyson Fury.
As horrible as Whyte seemed in his most recent bouts with Tyson Fury and Jermaine Franklin, Wallin would have had little trouble defeating the fading fighter, who is currently competing at the same level as his compatriot Derek Chisora at this point in his career.
The very gifted super middleweight contender Diego Pacheco will take Calllum's place in the main event against Jack Cullen.
Image Credit: Sky Sports