(PNA file photo)
DAVAO CITY – Undefeated Jayson “Smasher” Mama of General Santos City will no longer challenge International Boxing Federation (IBF) World flyweight champion Sunny “Showtime” Edwards of the United Kingdom after the title holder injured his ankle while training for the fight set on September 11 in Copper Box Arena, UK.
“It hurts so much for me but it’s okay. I’ve trained really hard for this fight. I’ve sacrificed a lot. I and my team stayed in Dubai for 12 days so we could enter the UK just for Edwards to pull out of the fight for an ankle during fight week,” Mama said on a Facebook post on Sept. 7.
Mama said he learned about the bad news after he and his manager Jim Claude “JC” Manangquil and trainer Ronerex Dalut arrived from Dubai the other day.
“But I don’t believe it. I think he just doesn’t want to fight me because it’s too risky for him,” Mama said.
Mama was first set to fight former IBF World flyweight champion Moruti “Baby Face” Mthalane of South Africa on Dec. 20, 2020, in South Africa but was also canceled.
Instead, Mthalane fought and lost to Edwards by a unanimous decision on April 30, 2021, at York Hall in Bethnal Green, London.
Mama and his team are now going back to the Philippines.
“It’s really frustrating to see a champion pull out of the fight during fight week. No matter what Sunny Edwards does, he has to deal with his mandatory challenger Jayson Mama or he can vacate his belt,” Manangquil said.
Meanwhile, MP president Sean Gibbons said Edwards has injured his ankle while he was walking during the weekend.
“We can’t believe it. I am just gutted for Jayson. He did everything he was supposed to do in preparation for this IBF World title fight,” Gibbons said.
“Under these terrible Covid-19 conditions he had to jump through hoops just to get to England and when he landed he was told Sunny Edwards had turned his ankle,” he added. (PNA)
