Khalil Coe has been forced out of his fight against
Jesse Hart on October 11 because of what he described as an “ongoing injury.”
“I want to apologize to everyone that was coming to see me go to battle,” Coe said on social media Thursday. “I love and appreciate everyone who supports me.”
David McWater, Coe’s manager, told The Ring that Coe was sidelined as the result of a hand injury.
“Khalil had a physical, and the doctor didn’t clear him to fight. His hand was all swollen,” McWater said.
Coe and Hart were supposed to square off in a 10-round light heavyweight clash at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, providing chief support on the
Matchroom Boxing card headlined by the junior middleweight debut of
Jarron Ennis against
Uisma Lima.
Coe (10-1-1, 8 KOs) last fought in May in Mexico and avenged the lone loss of his career against Manuel Gallegos. Coe was hospitalized twice in the weeks leading up to his first encounter with Gallegos and diagnosed with Rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which muscle breaks down. Gallegos dropped Coe four times en route to a ninth-round stoppage in November. The revitalized Coe rebounded to
stop Gallegos in the rematch inside six rounds.
Hart (31-3, 25 KOs) hasn’t fought since April of last year, and has a five-fight winning streak since suffering a split decision loss to Joe Smith Jr. in 2020.
It remains to be seen whether Hart, a two-time super middleweight title challenger from Philadelphia, will remain on the card for a homecoming against a late-replacement opponent.
Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.