Late last night, just 24 hours before Carl Frampton was scheduled to step into the ring to face Andrés Gutiérrez, it was announced that the fight had been cancelled.
Cyclone Promotions and The SSE Arena regret to announce that the “Return of The Jackal” event scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday 29th July, has been cancelled due to an accident to Andres Gutierrez.
It later emerged that the Mexican boxer had slipped in his hotel shower shortly after the weigh-in.
BBC Northern Ireland reported that Gutierrez had 'banged his head and suffered severe dental issues' and that he also 'hurt his nose and had a gash on his chin.' It meant that 24-year-old would not have been passed medically fit for the fight.
Andres Gutierrez explains the accident that lead to his fight with Carl Frampton being called off. Read more here https://t.co/yNg4QOKE2X pic.twitter.com/26rkMj0cLX
— BBC SPORT NI (@BBCSPORTNI) July 28, 2017
Earlier in the evening, Frampton had missed weight by one pound meaning that it would no longer serve as a title eliminator.
The sell-out fight was going to be Frampton's first appearance in Belfast since he beat Chris Avalos two-and-a-half years ago.
Frampton told BBC he was disappointed that the fight was cancelled but that it was also the right decision. He also apologised for missing weight.
Disappointed, gutted. It was a freak accident and unfortunately, you can’t really write things like this.
I’ve just seen Andres there and for the fighter’s safety there’s no way that he could box. It’s a dangerous sport and I don’t think physically he should be allowed to box and he wasn't. I'm disappointed the fight isn't going ahead.
I’d like to apologise for me being unprofessional and missing the weight. I did everything I could to get to the nine stone limit but it just seems to be getting harder.
Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
