Mike Perez injured, HBO scrap Geale-Macklin card

 
HEAVYWEIGHT contender Mike Perez has injured his shoulder only weeks before his scheduled WBC heavyweight title eliminator against Bryant Jennings, forcing broadcaster HBO to scrap the entire card – including the high stakes middleweight clash between Daniel Geale and Matthew Macklin.

 
“I was floored when I got the call this morning from Perez’s manager Patrick Thomas that he injured his shoulder in sparring,” Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions. “Mike is flying back to Ireland to see a shoulder specialist. I’m hoping to hear good news that the injury is not too serious and the fight can be rescheduled in the near future.”

 
“I know Mike is devastated because of this setback but looks forward to continuing his dream of marching toward a WBC world title fight.”

 
“When I received the news this afternoon that Perez got injured I felt so bad for Bryant because I know how hard he trained for this fight and how much he was looking forward to fighting for this WBC elimination bout,” said Gary Shaw. “I’m hope for that Perez’s is minor and we can get these guys back in the ring in a timely manner.”

 
As it stands, the Geale-Macklin fight, which was set to be the co-feature on the HBO televised card, remains off. However, Geale and Macklin’s teams, headed by US promoters Gary Shaw and Lou DiBella are working tirelessly to see if the fight can be salvaged.