BoxRec

WBF middleweight champion Damon Hague has pulled out of tomorrow's fight against Howard Clarke after succumbing to a viral infection.

Hague had intended to use the eight-round non-title bout as a warm-up ahead of the first defence of his WBF crown which is set to take place in his home town of Derby on either Friday, October 31, or Saturday, November 1.

Former kickboxer Hague had planned to take on Clarke at London's Alexandra Palace tomorrow night but after falling ill several days ago, his condition worsened and the 32-year-old opted to withdraw.

Hague said: "It is a blow but it was not worth taking the risk.

"I've got a world title fight coming up and I now have to concentrate all my efforts on that."

Interesting stuff, how far do you folks think this guy can go? He looked like a brawler with decent power and a lot of heart in his two fights with Wayne Pinder and i have not seen him in action apart from those matches. Can he go past his WBF title and surpass all expectation? Is he too old to be anything other than a crowd pleaser at 32? I need to know

Hague ain't going anywhere. To say he's been well-matched so far would be the understatement of the century. When they did finally chuck him in with someone half-decent, namely with Wayne Pinder, he got his arse kicked. He won the rematch a couple of months later, but should have been counted out in the first. Pinder deserves a rubber match.