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The televised undercard bout between Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym and top Cuban contender Guillermo Rigondeaux has been cancelled due to Poonsawat failing his pre-fight physical exam. According to multiple sources, he failed three blood tests. His wife believes that the test failures may be due to a recessive blood disorder, thalassemia.
This fight had been the chief supporting bout for the Nonito Donaiire - Jorge Arce card. It was to be televised between a replay of last week's thrilling Juan Manuel Marquez knockout of Manny Pacquiao, and, of course, the main event featuring Donaire and Arce. Naturally, this would have been a huge opportunity for both fighters to display their abilities in front of what will be a massive audience wanting to catch the replay and fallout analysis of the Marquez - Pacquiao fight. It's an especially hard blow for Rigondeaux as he needed to put on an impressive performance to entice people into wanting to see him paired with Donaire. Now, he may just be forced to sit.
As of now, nothing has been mentioned of a replacement or rescheduling. With the card only two days away, it would seem highly unlikely they could find a suitable substitute. Especially considering not many people want to fight Rigondeaux even with plenty of time and preparation.
Stay tuned as we will keep you up-to-date on anything new that could materialize with this situation.
UPDATE: Boxing Scene is stating that multiple sources have informed them that Poonsawat failed the blood exams because he has tested positive for HIV. Follow-up tests have been taken to confirm the result. Again, we will share more information as it comes in.