Joshua Buatsi pulled from December 18th Maxim Vlasov fight with hand injury

Matchroom Boxing’s Twitter account hit us with the ol’ good news/bad news two-piece this morning. Shortly after announcing that Lee McGregor would defend his European title against Narek Abgaryan on their December 18th Parker-Chisora 2 show, they revealed that Joshua Buatsi suffered a hand injury in training, scrapping a planned clash with Maxim Vlasov.

Buatsi (15-0, 13 KO) vs. Vlasov (45-4, 26 KO) was easily the most compelling matchup on the card, pitting a hugely promising prospect against an extremely experienced veteran who really should have the WBO light heavyweight title around his waist. Eddie Hearn was looking to set up an early 2022 title shot for Buatsi, so depending on the severity of this injury, that plan could need some retooling.

The card still features Carlos Gongora vs. Lerrone Richards in a clash of unbeaten super middleweights, an IBF eliminator between Zelfa Barrett and Bruno Tarimo, and Jack Cullen vs. Emre Cukur for the European super middleweight title.