Toronto boxing card postponed due to issues getting fighters visas

TORONTO — The Jose Sulaiman WBC World Invitational Tournament scheduled for Saturday at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage has been postponed.

Eric Bentley, COO of The Real Deal Boxing, said several fighters had not been granted visas to enter Canada “despite our best efforts.”

A revised date and location will be announced later, promoters said.

The tournament welterweight semifinals pitted South African Chris van Heerden against American-based Ghanaian Fredrick Lawson and Brad Solomon against fellow American Francisco Santana.

Bentley said the promoters felt that they had to postpone the event, given all four fighters had won quarterfinal bouts to progress in the competition.

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Santana is ranked 13th among WBC contenders while Lawson is No. 15, van Heerden No. 25 and Solomon No. 26.  

The boxing card was a co-promotion between Real Deal Boxing, Evander Holyfield’s promotion company, and Toronto’s Lee Baxter Promotions.

Canadians on the card included former Olympian Arthur Biyarslanov, who was slated to make his pro debut.

The Canadian Press