Salita-Camacho Fight Cancelled

Seemingly against the will of both fighters, the scheduled April 27 clash at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York between Dmitriy Salita and Hector Camacho Jr. has been cancelled. The two pugilists released a letter together:

BROOKLYN, NY (February 25, 2013) - Dear Friends, Fans and Boxing Community,

As all of you know, we were scheduled to fight each other February 9th, 2013, part of World Championship Boxing broadcast on Showtime from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Both of us were, and still very motivated to prepare ourselves for victory and give fans what they want. We worked hard in our respective training camps, did the miles on the road and put in countless rounds of sparring getting ready for this crossroads fight.

Due to circumstances beyond our control the show got postponed because of an injury sustained by main event fighter Danny Garcia. Golden Boy made a public statement that the whole card will get rescheduled to April 27th. While both of us were extremely disappointed we saw the light at the end of a three-month tunnel.

Sometimes in life, and too often in boxing, things do not hold true and the wrong thing can happen. This is one such moment. Either by mistake, or by design, contradictory stories have emerged to cancel our fight.

On Thursday, February 21st, Dan Rafael published a story on ESPN.COM stating that Camacho Jr pulled out of the fight. After hearing the news Mr. Camacho contacted Dan Rafael to let him know that no such withdrawal was ever made. He stated that the promoter told him that Dmitriy Salita pulled out due to the Jewish holiday of Passover, which was also false. Both fighters signed the contract and both still very much want the fight yet the fight is still canceled.

This is hurtful to the sport and unfair to the athletes. We put in the hard work and made a commitment to the promoter to put our life on hold to prepare and put on a show. As professional athletes we dedicate our lives and sacrificed many things including family to get us in the optimum condition to be at our best for the fans. Now we come to find out that the fight is cancelled and our dedication has gone to waste.

Our fight was to be the first New York City rivalry set to take place at the new Barclays Center. We are ready to put on a great fight for the fans on April 27th and ask them to continue to support us and for the promoter to honor our contract and our hard work.

Sincerely,

Dmitriy Salita and Hector Camacho Jr.