Saint George's big night is off as opponent fails medical
George Groves' first Commonwealth title defence has been called off.
Super-middleweight challenger James Obede Toney failed his pre-fight medical on Thursday due a cataract problem that has severely hampered his vision.
The Ghanaian was deemed in no condition to enter a ring, leaving Hayemaker Promotions with little option but to cancel the York Hall show.
They launched a desperate bid to find a last-minute replacement and even tried to get Prizefighter winner Patrick Mendy to step in to ensure the bill went ahead.
But with the fight little more than 48 hours away, Mendy turned down the offer leaving them with no option but to cancel the entire show.
"I'm gutted," he told skysports.com.
"This was going to be a great show, this wasn't a deadpan night, there were some good fights on the undercard and I was really looking forward to it.
"We had put a lot of mileage into this, a lot of hard work and effort. I've been training hard for 10 weeks and this night had been a long time coming. It was sold out and was going to be fantastic.
"We looked around tried to get someone in, but it wasn't to be."
Groves will now fight on the undercard, as chief support, to David Haye's world heavyweight showdown with Audley Harrison on November 13 - and the search is back on to find a new opponent.
"We'll now look to the 13th, but I am not sure it will be a title defence now," he said.
"I think it's going to be against a top-ranked European."
It will be the third time he has boxed on his stablemate's undercard and only yesterday (Thursday) told skysport.com he would be pushing for a place on the bill, providing he got past Toney unscathed.
