The middleweight fight between Chris Eubank Jr. and Liam Williams, and the latest middleweight title defense for Claressa Shields is on the move again.
Shields tweeted Monday her fight against Ema Kozin will now take place on Feb. 5, a week after when it was supposed to take place on Jan. 29. This comes after Great Britain’s boxing commission suspended the sport for the month of January.
On Saturday, the British Boxing Board of Control said they were suspending boxing in the country based on advice from the organization’s medical panel.
“Following advice from the British Boxing Board of Control Medical Panel, Boxing tournaments under the jurisdiction of the BBBofC will be suspended for the month of January,” a statement from Robert W. Smith, the BBBofC’s general secretary, said. “A further review by the Medical Panel and Stewards will take place prior to the planned recommencement of Boxing in February.”
The Eubank Jr.-Williams card was the most high-profile card affected in the country. It’s also the second time the card has been moved because of the main event. An injury to Williams (23-3-1, 18 KO) pushed back the fight against Eubank Jr. (31-2, 23 KO) from its initial date on Dec. 11, 2021 to Jan. 29, taking the Shields’ defense of her IBF, WBA and WBC titles against Kozin (21-0-1, 11 KO) with it.
Now the United Kingdom debut for Shields (11-0, 2 KO) — and her return to boxing after two straight fights in mixed martial arts — will have to wait another week.
ESPN’s Mike Coppinger contributed to this report.
