Simon Kean Suffers Back Injury, Withdraws From Dec. 16 Clash With Eric Molina

Simon Kean will have to wait until 2023 for a chance to extend his current knockout streak.

A back injury has forced the Canadian heavyweight out of a planned crossroads bout with former title challenger Eric Molina. The two were due to collide on December 16 at Centre Gervais Auto in Shawinigan, Canada, with the rest of the show moving forward but without its scheduled chief support.

“I’m so upset at not being able to fight in Shawinigan on December 16,” Kean said in a statement released through Eye of the Tiger Management. “I’ve had some of my best career matches right here. The ambience and the support that people have given me is unequalled anywhere, and it’s the fans who push me to excel in the ring.

“Even though I won’t be getting into the ring on the 16^th, you’ll be treated to a solid card with exciting fights. The fans The injury occurred in the midst of what was an otherwise productive training camp.

Kean (22-1, 21KOs) was on course to fight for the third time in 2022, though just one actual bout where punches were exchanged. In his most recent outing, the 33-year-old knockout artist from Trois-Rivieres, Quebec was credited with a first-round knockout after France’s Newfel Ouatah took a knee shortly after the opening bell of their September 9 clash in Montreal.

All told, Kean is riding a seven-fight win streak—all inside the distance—since an October 2018 upset fourth-round knockout defeat to Dillon Carman which was since avenged.

It remains unclear if the 40-year-old Molina will remain on the show, which already carries a modified main event.

Undefeated heavyweight contender Arslanbek Makhmudov (15-0, 14KOs) faces Germany’s Michael Wallisch (23-5, 16KOs), who accepted the fight after originally scheduled Raphael Akpejiori (14-0, 13KOs) bailed earlier this month.

has secured an opponent for his next fight.

Also on the show, fringe middleweight contender Steven Butler (31-3-1, 26KOs) faces Joshua Conley (17-4-1, 11KOs) in a scheduled ten-round bout. A more significant pairing pits unbeaten Mary Spencer (7-0, 5KOs) and former four-time title challenger Femke Hermans (13-4, 5KOs) in a ten-round junior middleweight bout.

Spencer was recently named as the number-one and mandatory contender for the WBC junior middleweight title held by lineal/WBC/IBF/WBO champ Natasha Jonas (13-2-1, 8KOs).

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox