Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that WBA Cruiserweight champion has pulled out of Saturday’s clash with Ryan Coyne due to a back injury when he tripped getting out of the ring after a training session.
I’m absolutely dejected, I am still,” Coyne told ESPN.com from his training camp in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Saturday night. “I was in shock when I heard. I couldn’t believe it. I trained hard, I left my family behind, and I’ve been living under a rock and giving it my heart and soul for eight weeks, and it’s not going to come to fruition.”
The fight was due to take place at the Family Arena in the St. Louis suburb of St. Charles, Mo., Coyne’s hometown, on the untelevised undercard of an HBO tripleheader
This is the second time in the state of Missouri that Jones has pulled out of a title shot just days before a bout.
In 2006, Jones pulled out of a Showtime televised bout with Steve Cunningham just four days before they were supposed to fight for the vacant IBF belt in St. Louis
With Jones out, Coyne (16-0, 6 KOs), known as “The Irish Outlaw,” will face late substitute David McNemar (13-0, 10 KOs), 38, of Parkersburg, W.Va.
“I’ll get a title shot. I just have to stay positive,” Coyne said. “I’ll still be in business on Saturday night and I’ll get a win and keep pressing forward.”
“The doctor looked at him and said, ‘You need to rest, you can’t train. You’re hurt,’ ” said Don King Productions PR maven Alan Hopper. “At first they thought it might be cracked ribs, but it was a back injury that radiated to his side. Naturally, the hope is (Coyne) can get by (McNemar) and Guillermo can get healthy and they can fight when he’s ready. But for now, Guillermo has been ordered to bed rest.”
McNemar is not even close to the level of Jones (37-3-2, 29 KOs), 39, of Panama, a longtime top contender who finally won a title in 2008 and was due to make his second defense against Coyne, who would have been taking a significant step up in competition. McNemar has fought only once previously outside of West Virginia and has not had a fight since November 2007.
“He’s a tough guy and he’ll come to win and fight with heart, but he’s not in our class,” Coyne said. “He’s going to get the wrath. I was prepared to take on a world champion, and I’m ready to rock ‘n’ roll. I’ll look for the positive in the situation. I’m not happy. I spent eight weeks running mountains, but sometimes you get thrown an off-speed pitch and you just have to go with it and hit it to the opposite field, and then come up the next inning and hit the home run.”
