The undercard for Tyson Fury’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk has been thrown into disarray by an anti-doping investigation into Dennis McCann. The British fighter’s clash with Peter McGrail next Saturday night will no longer go ahead.
McCann has returned an “adverse finding” to an anti-doping test ahead of his scheduled fight with McGrail. The bout was due to take place on the undercard for Fury vs Usyk II in Saudi Arabia.
A statement shared by Queensbury Promotions read: “The Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) has today informed all relevant parties that Dennis McCann has returned an adverse finding following an anti-doping test conducted in advance of his upcoming bout.
“Mr. McCann’s scheduled fight next Saturday will no longer take place, as the relevant parties investigate the matter further. No further comment on this will be made at this time.”
The same statement was shared by Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority.
McCann has been removed from the undercard in Saudi Arabia. The circumstances of his test result will be investigated.
The 23-year-old is the current European super-bantamweight champion, having won the title in July. His professional record stands at an impressive 16-0-1 with eight knockouts. The rising star is also the British and Commonwealth champion.
It is unclear whether a new opponent for McGrail will be sourced before the fight. Any fighter happy to face the 28-year-old would only have eight days to prepare for the bout.
McGrail, a former Commonwealth Games gold medallist, is 10-1 with six knockout victories during his professional career. His last fight came in September when he stopped Brad Foster in the second round in Sheffield.
Fury exercised his right to a rematch after Usyk defeated him by split decision in an epic fight in May. It was soon announced that the rematch would take place on December 21.
Speaking ahead of next Saturday’s fight, Fury said: “I’m just going to box smart, box clever and if I catch him, get him out of there. Pretty similar to what I did last time. A little bit less clowning around and a bit more focus and that’s it, really.
“I did more clowning than anybody in any high-level fight’s ever done. It’s taken my focus away as well, so maybe a little less clowning and more focus on the actual victory. I was messing around too much in there.”