Valuev’s title defense canceled

Ruslan Chagaev failed a “medical requirement” on Friday, forcing his challenge for Nikolai Valuev’s WBA heavyweight title to be called off a day before the fight.

Finnish officials said “Chagaev has been unable to fulfill the Finnish Boxing Federation’s medical requirements” but gave no further details.

“It was a big shock for us today,” said Wilfried Sauerland, Valuev’s manager.

Federation president Pertti Augustin and press spokesman Pekka Kaidesoja refused to offer explanations, saying “it’s against Finnish law to do so.”

Chagaev would have earned 55% of the $2.8-million purse.

It’s the third time their rematch has been canceled since Chagaev gave the 7-foot Russian his only pro defeat in April 2007. The previous two rematches were called off because Chagaev ruptured an Achilles’ tendon in training.

After Chagaev, as WBA titleholder, withdrew from the two scheduled rematches he was named “champion in recess,” and the WBA vacated the title.

Because of that status, Chagaev had to fight Valuev by the end of June.

Before boarding a flight from New York to Helsinki, promoter Don King said the WBA should announce Valuev as its undisputed champion.

“Nikolai has been patient in waiting for Chagaev to become medically fit to fight,” King said. “We applaud the WBA for making every effort to allow Chagaev to return, but it is clear now that we must move on.”

It was unclear what the sanctioning body would decide.

“It’s a decision that the board of the directors of the WBA has to make,” WBA official George Martinez said. “We will meet as soon as possible and address the problem. We have to collect all the facts, and in a proper time we’ll make a decision.”

Valuev won the vacant title last August by beating American John Ruiz in Berlin.

Four months later, he defended the title against 46-year-old Evander Holyfield, who had arrived in Helsinki earlier Friday for the scheduled bout dubbed “The Revenge of the Giant.”

Chagaev returned from his injuries in February and won a technical decision over Carl Davis Drumond at Rostock, Germany -- the Uzbek-born boxer’s first fight in more than a year.

The bout Saturday at 15,000-seat Hartwall Arena would have been only the second world title fight in the Finnish capital. Davey Moore of the United States knocked out Olli Maki of Finland in 1962 to retain his world featherweight title.

Denied

Marco Antonio Barrera has been denied a rematch with Amir Khan by the WBO despite a clash of heads before the English fighter won.

Barrera’s promoter, King, had hoped the “tainted” lightweight bout in March at Manchester would be declared a no-contest. But the British Boxing Board of Control cleared the referee Friday of making a mistake by not stopping the bout in the second minute of the first round when their heads collided.

The Mexican received a huge cut on the left side of his head, and the ring doctor in Manchester later stopped the contest in the fifth round. Had the fight been stopped in the fourth round, it would have been declared a no-contest to automatically force a rematch.

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Fight schedule

MAY 29

At Phuket, Thailand, Oleydong Sithsamerchai, Thailand, vs. Muhammad Rachman, Indonesia, 12, for Sithsamerchai’s WBC minimumweight title.

MAY 30

At Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Fla. (HBO), Andre Berto, Winter Haven, Fla., vs. Juan Urango, Miami, 12, for Berto’s WBC welterweight title; Alfredo Angulo, Coachella, Calif., vs. Kermit Cintron, Reading, Pa., 12, light middleweights; Yusaf Mack, New York, vs. DeAndrey Abron, Youngstown, Ohio, 10, light heavyweights.

JUNE 5

At Chicago (ESPN2), Carlos Quintana, Puerto Rico, vs. Danny Perez, San Diego, 12, junior middleweights; Joey Hernandez, Miami, vs. Damian Frias, Miami, 10, welterweights.

JUNE 6

At Bally’s, Atlantic City, Mike Jones, Philadelphia, vs. Larry Mosley, Los Angeles, 12, for the NABA welterweight title.

JUNE 12

At HP Pavillion, San Jose, Calif. (ESPN2), Robert Guerrero, Gilroy, Calif., vs. Johnnie Edwards, Jacksonville, N.C., 10, super featherweights.

JUNE 13

At Madison Square Garden, New York (HBO), Miguel Cotto, Puerto Rico, vs. Joshua Clottey, Bronx, N.Y., 12, for Cotto’s WBO welterweight title; Ivan Calderon, Puerto Rico, vs. Rodel Mayol, Philippines, 12, for Calderon’s WBO light flyweight title.

At Mexico City, Juan Palacios, Nicaragua, vs. Erik Ramirez, Mexico, 12, for the interim WBC minimumweight title.

JUNE 19

At Montreal (VERSUS), Adrian Diaconu, Canada, vs. Jean Pascal, Canada, 12, for Diaconu’s WBC light heavyweight title.

At Laredo (Texas) Entertainment Center (ESPN2), Fernando Beltran Jr. vs. Monty Meza-Clay, Rankin, Pa., 12, for Beltran’s Latino featherweight title.

JUNE 20

At Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Wladimir Klitschko (HBO), Ukraine, vs. David Haye, Britain, 12, for Klitschko’s IBF-WBO-IBO heavyweight titles; Alexander Ustinov, Belarus, vs. Michael Sprott, Britain, 10, heavyweights.

At Veracruz, Mexico, Tomas Rojas, Mexico, vs. Rafael Concepcion, Panama, 12, for the vacant interim WBC super flyweight title; Edgar Sosa, Mexico, vs. Carlos Melo, Panama, 12, for Sosa’s WBC light flyweight title.

JUNE 21

At Sunchales, Argentina, Hugo Hernan Garay, Argentina, vs. David Gogiya, 12, for Garay’s WBA light heavyweight title.

JUNE 27

At Windhoek, Namibia, Paulus Moses, Namibia, vs. Verquan Kimbrough, Pittsburgh, 12, for Moses’ WBA lightweight title.

At London, Andreas Kotelnik, Germany, vs. Amir Khan, Britain, 12, for Kotelnik’s WBA light welterweight title; Matthew Hall, Britain, vs. Anthony Small, Britain, 12, for Hall’s Commonwealth junior middleweight title.

At Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, N.J. (PPV), Juan Manuel Lopez, Puerto Rico, vs. Olivier Lontchi, Canada, 12, for Lopez’s WBO super bantamweight title; Fernando Montiel, Mexico, vs. Eric Morel, Madison, Wis., 12, for Montiel’s WBO bantamweight title; Mike Alvarado, Thornton, Colo., vs. Paul Malignaggi, Brooklyn, N.Y., 10, light welterweights; Vanes Martirosyan, Glendale, Calif., vs. Andrey Tsurkan, Bronx, N.Y., 10, light middleweights.

At Tamaulipas, Mexico, Jorge Linares, Japan, vs. Josafat Perez, Mexico, 12, for Linares’ WBA super featherweight title.

At Quintana Roo, Mexico, Juan Jose Landaeta, Venezuela, vs. Francisco Rosas, Mexico, 12, for the vacant interim WBA light flyweight title; Koki Kameda, Japan, vs. Omar Salado, Mexico, 12, for the interim WBA flyweight title.

At Staples Center, Los Angeles (HBO), Chris John, Indonesia, vs. Rocky Juarez, Houston, 12, for John’s WBA featherweight title; Victor Ortiz, Oxnard, Calif., vs. Marcos Maidana, Argentina, 12, for the interim WBA light welterweight title.