Amir to face Dib as Neeraj misses WBC Pearl World C’ship

Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), June 27 (IANS) As India's Neeraj Goyat was ruled out of next months WBC Pearl World Championship after meeting with a car accident, his opponent Amir Khan, a Pakistan-origin British boxer, will now fight two-time world champion Billy Dib here on July 12, it was announced on Thursday.

Two-time world champion Khan was due to face Goyat at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in the first ever Pakistan-India showdown in a boxing ring.

Khan will still headline the groundbreaking boxing extravaganza in the Middle East that also features Hughie Fury, Prince Patel and Dave Penasola, all in title bouts to be broadcast live in the UK on Channel 5 and 5Spike.

It's clear that Goyat's will not recover in time and be fully fit to fight Khan on the scheduled date and promoter Bill Dosanjh of The Super Boxing League has moved quickly to secure Khan a new opponent in former two-time world champion Dibb.

Speaking on the development, Khan said: "First of all my heart goes out to Neeraj and I pray for him to make a full recovery and become fit and healthy again to resume his boxing career.

"This fight is a landmark moment for boxing in Saudi Arabia and myself, Bill, the Saudi GSA and the government have worked tirelessly to put this event together. We wanted to keep the event on during the important Saudi Season and ensure that fans in Saudi get to watch this great event."

"I'm really excited the fight is still on. I would have been absolutely distraught if my dream of fighting in Saudi had to be put on hold. Dib is a respected and experienced two-time world champion, so I'm looking forward to pitting my skill against him," he added.