Viddal Riley is suddenly left without a dance partner for his first scheduled fight of the year.
Isaac Chamberlain was forced to withdraw from the all-British cruiserweight clash with Riley, due to an undisclosed training camp injury. The two were due to meet on a Feb. 1 Sky Sports/Peacock+ show from OVO Arena Wembley in London, England.
“Unfortunately, Isaac Chamberlain is unable to box on February 1,” BOXXER CEO Ben Shalom revealed on Monday. “Viddal fight news coming soon.”
Riley-Chamberlain was due to serve as the chief support to the Adam Azim-Sergey Lipinets junior welterweight crossroads bout. The rest of the show will move forward as planned, though with uncertainty as to when—if at all—the cruiserweight clash can make its way onto a BOXXER show in the near future.
Riley (12-0, 7 KOs) won both of his fights in 2024, including a ten-round decision over Mikael Lawal (17-2, 11 KOs) in a step-up bout last March 31 at The O2 in London. The 27-year-old cruiserweight wrapped up his campaign with a second-round knockout of made to order Dan Garber last Dec. 14 on the Natasha Jonas-Ivana Habazin undercard in Liverpool.
Chamberlain (16-3, 8 KOs) has hit the gatekeeper stage of his career.
The Londoner impressed in an Oct. 2023 win over a then-unbeaten Lawal at Bethnal Green’s famed York Hall. His lone offering of 2024, however, was a points loss to Jack Massey last June 15 at Selhurst Park Football Ground in London. The event was topped by then-WBO cruiserweight titlist Chris Billam Smith (20-2, 13 KOs), who bested Chamberlain on the domestic level in 2022.
A pairing between Riley and Chamberlain expected to tell a lot about where both fighters were in their respective careers. They both played up to the rivalry but will now have to wait for further instructions.
"The fight between Viddal and Isaac has been a long time coming,” said Shalom. “We were excited to finally see them in the ring and are disappointed that won't be happening next week as planned. We wish Isaac a speedy recovery.”
Jake Donovan is part of the U.S. team for The Ring. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.