Just eight days out from the biggest fight of his career, Peter McGrail received the heartbreaking news that Dennis McCann failed a VADA anti-doping test, and as a result, their triple title fight was canceled.
While McCann vs. McGrail was generally hailed by boxing fans to be the best fight on the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2 undercard, a suitable replacement has now been secured. Liverpool’s McGrail (10-1, 6 KOs) will instead face unbeaten Welshman Rhys Edwards (16-0, 4 KOs) at Saturday’s huge event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Edwards was previously scheduled to clash with Leon Woodstock in January in Sheffield on the Callum Simpson vs. Steed Woodhall undercard, so presumably he will already have been training.
Edwards is coming off respectable wins over Brad Foster and Thomas Patrick Ward in his past two bouts, the second of which earned Edwards the WBA Intercontinental title and a top-15 world ranking.
McGrail, a 2020 Olympian, also boxed Foster and knocked him out in just two rounds, whereas Foster extended Edwards to 10 ultra-competitive rounds in November 2023.
McGrail competes at super bantamweight while Edwards is a featherweight. Edwards’ promoter Ben Shalom said on social media that the bout will be contested at the super featherweight limit of 130 pounds, however McGrail’s promoter Eddie Hearn told Uncrowned that a 128-pound catchweight is also possible.
In the Usyk vs. Fury 2 co-feature, Ukrainian super welterweight Serhii Bohachuk battles another late replacement, Britain’s Ishmael Davis. Bohachuk was scheduled to face Israil Madrimov on the show, but Madrimov withdrew just over a week ago because he is suffering from acute bronchitis.
Davis (13-1, 6 KOs) and Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KOs) both lost majority decisions in their previous outings. The Brit lost his unbeaten record to Josh Kelly in September on the Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois undercard at Wembley Stadium, while Bohachuk dropped Vergil Ortiz twice but narrowly fell short on the scorecards in Las Vegas.
A pair of heavyweight attractions also feature on the Usyk vs. Fury 2 undercard as top prospect Moses Itauma, 19, steps up against Australia’s Demsey McKean, and British duo Johnny Fisher and Dave Allen battle in a crossroads clash over 10 rounds.
Elsewhere on the show, Isaac Lowe meets Lee McGregor in a featherweight contest, Ukrainian prospects Andrii Novytskyi and Daniel Lapin return to the ring, and Saudi Arabia’s own Mohammed Alakel has his second pro fight.
Uncrowned will bring you live round-by-round coverage on Saturday for the big rematch.
