South African cruiserweight contender Kevin Lerena announced he needs hand surgery and cannot challenge Ryad Merhy on July 17th as planned. Here is Lerena's message as posted by his promoter Rodney Berman posted on the Golden Gloves website:  "Fight is off. I am absolutely gutted to say the least. My WBA [regular] and IBO title fight has to be called off because I injured my hand in sparring yesterday and it requires immediate surgical intervention. I tried my best to continue, however the pain is too severe and an operation is the only route to fix the tendons and the bone in my hand. I’m devastated but this is professional sports. Injuries are part of the journey. I will be returning to South Africa as soon as possible in order to get the surgical repairs done. I want to extend my apologies to Merhy and his team and [give my] gratitude for their being understanding. I know what an event it was going to be and I can assure everyone that once my hand has healed post surgery we will go to war. Thank you to my promoter Rodney Berman and Lou Dibella and thank you to all my sponsors. The goal has not changed, the goal post has merely just moved! In closing, I guess it’s a sacrifice I feel the pain now in order to have a sustainable future."