Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul undercard fight cancelled just days before bout

Armando Casamonica has stepped in to replace Corey Marksman in his fight with Lucas Bahdi on the undercard of Mike Tyson's fight with next week.

Marksman has been forced to withdraw injured from the fight which was scheduled to take place at the AT&T Stadium in Texas next Friday. Bahdi and Casamonica will now put their respective unbeaten records on the line in front of up to 80,000 fans before Tyson's controversial bout with YouTuber Paul.

Bahdi rose to prominence by knocking out Ashton Sylve in July, brutally stopping the stablemate of Paul while Casamonica is the reigning Italian light-welterweight champion. “It’s an immense honor to represent my family and our legacy on the biggest stage in ,” he said of stepping in at short-notice.

"Boxers dream of nights like this—fighting under the lights at AT&T Stadium, in front of millions of fans around the , including my fans at home in Italy, on . Thank you to MVP for this opportunity, I’m bringing everything I’ve got to this fight, and Lucas Bahdi better be ready because history meets destiny on Friday, November 15."

Of being handed a late change in opponent, Bahdi said: "Undefeated fighters always fight hard to protect their records and I expect that Armando Casamonica will do that. But I’m also undefeated and will fight even harder than him. I can’t wait to put on a show on November 15."

Tyson will fight for the first time in four years when the 58-year-old takes on YouTuber Paul. The former undisputed heavyweight champion fought to a bore draw with Roy Jones Jr behind closed doors in 2020 in what was his first outing since he retired on his stool after five rounds against Kevin McBride in 2005.

Paul has fought 11 times as a professional, winning 10 while his sole defeat came against last year. The social media star has padded his record with victories over several former MMA fighters including Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva and Nate Diaz. Most recently, he stopped bare-knuckle boxer and former star Mike Perry.

Perry had stepped in to replace Tyson after the ageing legend pulled out of his first fight date with Paul after suffering an ulcer flare-up on a flight. The bout, which will be streamed on Netflix, was rescheduled for next week with Tyson insisting he is fit to fight over eight two-minute rounds.