Andre Berto's in-ring return will have to wait after suffering a torn left bicep tendon.
The former welterweight champion was set to fight Miguel Cruz on August 3 at the Barclays Center as part of a PBC on FOX broadcast, but that fight has now been scrapped. Berto tweaked his left bicep muscle during sparring earlier last week and tore the tendon during his final sparring session on July 27. After Berto took an MRI, doctors advised the former titleholder to not go through with the fight and to have surgery as soon as possible.
The fight was set to be the co-main event of the broadcast, but with the bout now scrapped, there's been a couple of changes to the card. The original fight slated to open the broadcast, an interim WBA light heavyweight title bout between Marcus Browne and Jean Pascal, has been elevated to the co-main event. The new fight that will open the broadcast is a 10-round, junior middleweight matchup between Curtis Stevens and Wale Omotoso.
This will be Stevens' debut at 154 pounds after spending the last seven years competing as a middleweight, even challenging for a world title when he faced Gennadiy Golovkin in 2013. Stevens has not fought since defeating Carlos Rafael Cruz in July 2018. Omotoso has primarily fought as a welterweight throughout his career, but after not fighting for 17 months, he returned to the ring in May when he lost a 10-round decision to Chordale Booker.
The card will be headlined by a heavyweight matchup between undefeated contender Adam Kownacki and former title challenger Chris Arreola.