

ANTHONY Mundine has been forced to withdraw from this weekend’s highly anticipated fight with American rival Austin Trout.



Mundine (47-6, 27 KOs) was scheduled to make the first defence of his WBC Silver light middleweight title against former WBA light middleweight champion Austin Trout (28-2, 15 KOs).



The fight was set to feature as part of a triple header presented by Premier Boxing Champions, including two high calibre fights with Omar Figueroa vs. Ricky Burns and Tomoki Kameda vs. Jamie McDonnell also being televised.



Despite initial reports of an elbow injury suffered in camp, it appears that Mundine suffered a perforated eardrum on his flight to Texas from Sydney last week.



https://twitter.com/BenThompson_au/status/595041228053315584



A press release issued by Mundine’s team read as follows.



“Mundine is suffering from a severe ear condition which doctors say will cause him serious and potentially permanent damage if he continues with the bout,”



“The ear condition was first noticed after sparring and got progressively worse the next day during his flight to the USA. We sought immediate medical attention after landing in the US and have taken the medical advice to reschedule the fight for a later date very seriously.”



“The safety of fighters is our first priority,”



“Anthony Mundine is not allowed to be airborne for the next two weeks and will remain in Texas and then resume his training program for the rescheduled event,”



“Team Mundine are understandably devastated by this unavoidable delay and thank Austin Trout’s management and the promoters Al Haymon, Leon Margules and Premier Boxing Champions for their understanding,”



“We extend gratitude to the amazing efforts of the San Antonio Spurs medical team who have greatly assisted Anthony in managing his injury.”





Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images Asia Pacific



