Birmingham’s Shakan Pitters (20-2, 7 KOs) was admitted to hospital on Monday, March 31st, just four days before he was due to challenge for the European light-heavyweight title against the champion Daniel Blenda Dos Santos (22-1, 10 KOs) at the York Hall in London.
On Tuesday afternoon, April 1, GBM Sports promoter, Izzy Asif, took to Instagram to provide an update on Pitters’ condition.
“I’ve been up all night trying to sort this out with my team, trying to get a fight over the line so the top of the bill continues,” Asif reported. “We’re nearly there. This is no April Fool. This is boxing promotion. Most importantly, Shakan is alright. He’s still in hospital but it’s nothing serious, nothing critical.”
It appears that Pitters vs Dos Santos is a doomed fight, as the champion withdrew from their first date in February after he failed a medical just days before their scheduled contest in Sheffield.
Fortunately, another opponent has already been found and named – Bradley Rea (20-1, 10 KOs).
The show must go on, as Manchester’s Rea will now challenge the champion from France, live on DAZN.
The 27-year-old Brit thoroughly deserves the opportunity after being left bitterly disappointed when his dream fight on the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol undercard was cancelled earlier this year.
He was due to face Sweden’s Constantino Nanga in Saudi Arabia in what would have been a huge platform and lucrative payday for the English title contender.
Rea has lost just once in his seven-year pro career, to the in-form Tyler Denny in 2022 when they clashed in Manchester for the English middleweight title.
Since then, Rea has moved up in weight and won six on the spin, including five consecutive KOs in his last five fights – all within three rounds.
Unbeaten at light-heavyweight with an 83% KO ratio, Rea has a fantastic chance to become a European champion, but the titleholder has also only lost once – to Joshua Buatsi – and has won seven in a row, which includes winning French, European Union and European light-heavyweight titles.
Also on the stacked GBM Sports card is the British and Commonwealth super-flyweight titles fight between the champion Emma Dolan and challenger Lauren Parker.
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