Willibaldo Garcia will not defend his title. The IBF champion had a scheduled fight against Kenshiro Teraji on the Naoya Inoue-David Picasso headlined The Ring V: Night of the Samurai. The situation, however, seems to have changed overnight. Reports now reveal Garcia had fallen ill and was taken to the hospital. As a result, Turki Alalshikh is now scrambling to find a late replacement.

While fans on social media processed the startling news, many were caught off guard when Alalshikh, the head of Riyadh Season, shared names, seeking information on potential replacements for Willibaldo Garcia. The champion from Mexico’s Guerrero state had turned 36 just three days earlier. For Kenshiro Teraji, the disruption represents a significant setback in his pursuit of becoming a three-division champion.

Turki Alalshikh searches for a late replacement for Teraji

A series of cryptic posts from Alalshikh raised eyebrows. Without naming Garcia, he referenced “a boxer who got injured” and said the fighter could no longer participate in the scheduled 115-pound bout. “The Japanese champion boxer doesn’t want him to return to Japan without boxing 😎,” Alalshikh wrote. “I found this Arab champion from Sudan. Who can point us to him so we can try to bring him to box tomorrow if he’s ready and his weight is ready?”

The post featured a photo of 24-year-old Sudanese fighter Murtda Ziemalabden, who made his professional debut just two weeks ago. Alalshikh later posted an image of Moussa Mouhoub. Like Ziemalabden, the Algerian-Spanish boxer turned professional this year and has competed in three bouts so far.

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Later, veteran boxing journalist Dan Rafael reported that Garcia became ill after the ceremonial weigh-in. “He still had to make the IBF weight check and was struggling, then fell ill and had to be hospitalized,” Rafael wrote. Subsequently, he confirmed that the fight with Teraji was off.

At the weigh-ins, while responding to Ring Magazine’s Mike Coppinger, Willibaldo Garcia showed little indication of any health issues.

Garcia’s sudden exit compounds Alalshikh’s woes

Garcia weighed in at 113.9 pounds, while Kenshiro Teraji tipped the scales at 114.5 pounds. Later, speaking through a translator, Garcia shared his thoughts on defending his hard-earned title against a fearsome challenger like Teraji, whom many consider a future Hall of Fame candidate. Calm and composed, Garcia said, “I feel very strong. Age doesn’t mean anything. I just came here to win, and I’m going to win.”

In an official statement, Matchroom Boxing said that a thorough medical assessment deemed Garcia unfit to proceed with the title defense. Given that this was a voluntary title defense, it remains unclear whether the IBF will strip Garcia of his belt. Even if he keeps the title, he must still face the division’s No. 1 contender, Andrew Moloney.

For Riyadh Season, the situation represents a case of double jeopardy. Ahead of the event, the card suffered a setback when the super featherweight title bout between WBA champion Jazza Dickens and challenger Hayato Tsutsumi fell apart after Tsutsumi suffered a cut during sparring. Tsutsumi’s younger brother, Ring Magazine ambassador Reito Tsutsumi, opens the Ring V card against Leobardo Quintana.