Why Liam Smith has been forced to withdraw from Josh Kelly fight on Anthony Joshua undercard

Liam Smith has been forced to withdraw from his bout with Josh Kelly at Wembley Stadium next Saturday. The two had been due to fight on the undercard of Anthony Joshua's world heavyweight title showdown against Daniel Dubois at the home of English football.

However, the ECHO understands that the fight will no longer take place as Smith has been forced to withdraw due to a virus. The ECHO also understands that replacements are now being considered for Kelly, who is still expected to feature on the card.

Smith was set to be returning to the ring for the first time since his stoppage defeat to Chris Eubank Jr last September, while Kelly has won his last five fights. In other Merseyside boxing news, it has been confirmed that Ryan Farrag will take on Marcel Braithwaite for the vacant IBO Inter-Continental super-flyweight championship.

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The fight will take place on Saturday, November 16 at the Olympia and the winner will be in line for a shot at the IBO title currently held by Ricardo Malajika. The 26-year-old South African claimed the title after beating Braithwaite via a unanimous decision back in April.

Braithwaite came back with a first-round win in Dubai on September 6, while Farrag won the Commonwealth title in a vacant capacity against Quaise Khademi at York Hall in June. Speaking after his win back in June, Farag said: “I want to build on this. I have a Commonwealth title now, and I want to box for more titles. I want to box names.

“I want to box fighters with good records. Like I have said, I haven’t got a lot of time left, so I don’t want to be fighting anyone beneath me. I want to step it up, and I want a world title.”