FORMER Commonwealth light-middleweight champion Bradley Pryce and hot prospect Chris Evagelou have been withdrawn from the Calzaghe Promotions bill at the Newport Centre on November 20.
The duo had been scheduled to feature prominently on the ‘Back 2 the Future’ show, the third Calzaghe Promotions show since Joe’s retirement from the ring at the turn of the year.
However, Pryce, who has suffered a rollercoaster couple of years in which he split with promoter Frank Warren, suffered from an eating disorder and lost his Commonwealth crown, is now off the card after Calzaghe Promotions suffered a work permit blow with his scheduled opponent.
It is doubly disappointing for Pryce who bounced back from a second round stoppage loss to Matthew Hall with a superb victory over veteran Michael Monaghan last time out.
The 28-year old, who is expecting a child next year with fiancée Jenna, was due to share the main billing with comeback star Tony Doherty, but is now off the bill altogether.
Original opponent Sergejs Savrinovics from Latvia was denied a work permit and Pryce has opted not to fight an eight-rounder against a lesser opponent for a smaller purse.
His withdrawal from the bill pushes Doherty further into the limelight, the supremely talented welterweight looking to get his career back on track after a ring absence of 19 months.
Evangelou was set to make his professional debut on the Back 2 the Future show and his absence is unavoidable, the English-Cypriot fighter suffering a swollen ankle in training that has yet to heal.
The former actor turned fighter is the biggest coup so far for Calzaghe Promotions, having been signed despite other offers, including one from Hatton Promotions.
“I went to the Los Angeles Wildcard Boxing Club at the end of July under the coaching of Jesse Reid and Freddy Roach who trained me for a month,” he explained.
“They offered me a good deal. It was a dream come true to have an offer from such an established coach, but my fans and my family are here in Britain.
“I came back from LA and when you have a little bit of interest, everyone else wants you.
“I went to the Hattons’ gym and sparred there and they were all great people.
“Having Ricky Hatton there was an inspiration too as he’s a great world fighter. They offered me a good contract and I was thinking about it at the time when we had a call from Gary Lockett (the ex-WBU middleweight champion who works with Calzaghe Promotions).
“They asked me to come down to Wales and do some sparring and see what they had to offer.
“The chemistry was there, everything just clicked. They seemed more like boxing people than business people and to have Joe there was one of the perks.
“When they offered me a contract I was in a bit of a dilemma as to who I go with. We picked the Calzaghes because of who they are as people and what they are going to offer me, and the pedigree in coaching.”
With Pryce and Evangelou off the bill, the undercard for the fight has been extended with Hari Miles, Lee Selby, Lee Churcher, Justyn Hugh and Gary Lockett-managed duo Ryan and Jeff Evans all included.
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