According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Willie Nelson is out of his December 7th bout with Matthew Macklin due to an elbow injury.
“Darnell Boone tied him up and Willie heard a pop in his elbow,” said Lou DiBella, who promoted bith Nelson and Macklin. “We got verification over the weekend that he has the tear and can’t fight Macklin. Willie is probably going to be out for about four months. He probably won’t be able to fight until about mid-March.”
“Willie is very upset,” DiBella said. “He was prepared and he was psyched for this fight with Matt. But at least it wasn’t a total tear or a career-threatening injury. He’s upset but there’s nothing he can do about it, and he knows it could have been a lot worse. He had a sense as soon as he heard the pop that there was something wrong. So we’ll find a replacement to fight Macklin.”
Another opponent HBO suggested — whom Macklin and DiBella accepted — was Max Bursak (28-1-1, 12 KOs) of Ukraine.
“We tried to make that fight, which was HBO’s idea,” DiBella said. “But Bursak’s trainer vetoed the fight because it was on too short notice, so we’re working on another opponent.”
