Update: “I have been battling a feverish infection since Sunday,” said the 39-year-old Braehmer in a statement. “Unfortunately, a fight in this state is out of the question. It is not possible for me to go into the ring like this and I would like to apologize to my fans. I was well prepared and looking forward to fighting Callum.”

By Ebby Thust/boxen1.com

Two-time world champion Jürgen Brähmer has pulled out of Saturday’s World Boxing Super Series semi-final against Callum Smith in Nuremberg, Germany. Brähmer has been in bed for days with a severe cold. Since last weekend doctors have tried everything, including infusions, but now there’s no chance Brähmer will get into the ring against Smith on Saturday.

The fight can’t be postponed due to the tight schedule and WBSS rules, thus Brähmer is eliminated from the race for the Muhammad Ali Trophy.

Smith, however, doesn’t get a free ride into the June 2 WBSS final. He instead gets a replacement opponent who will be announced today. It’s likely that Smith will face either Nieky Holzken (13-0, 10 KOs) or Dmitrii Chudinov (20-2-2, 13 KOs) who are designated WBSS substitute fighters scheduled on the undercard.