WBA Oceania lightweight champion Mikaele Ravalaca will no longer defend his regional title after his Indian opponent, Mahesh Digari, withdrew from tomorrow night’s King Boxing Promotion Bad Blood event at Vodafone Arena in Suva.
Digari was drafted in as a replacement after fellow Indian Rohit Chauhan pulled out of the main event.
However, Digari failed to travel to Fiji, leaving organisers without an opponent for Ravalaca.
Promoter Naroon Buksh said every effort had been made to save the title fight.
“Rohit pulled out and I signed Mahesh Dhingari. He did not board the plane,” Buksh said.
“I also arranged another boxer from New Zealand, but he did not appear. I had no alternative local opponent for Mika.”
Buksh also revealed that they had approached Runqi Zhou who had defeated Binu Singh and the late Ubayd Haider.
Negotiations collapsed when he knew he will be fighting Ravalaca.
“We had approached Zhou’s camp, and he was training in Chine,” Buksh said.
“He’s on 61 kg so when they heard his fighting Mika suddenly his weight went down. He said I’m at 57 and my price will be like $20,000 USD.”
Instead, Ravalaca will feature in a special exhibition contest against four local boxers, with each opponent contesting two rounds.
The four are Jone Tabuarua, Peni Vunisa, Watisoni Rokotuitoga and Samuela Leqaiwai.
Despite the disappointment, Ravalaca remains eager to step into the ring.
“It’s disappointing the opponent pulled out,” he said.
“Of course I’ll fight. I’ll show my skills and focus on myself.”
While Ravalaca’s title defence is off, the Fijian champion will still have the opportunity to showcase his talent before the home crowd.
