Caleb Truax has officially withdrawn from a fight against Peter Quillin set for later this month after suffering an injury to his right Achilles.
In a statement posted by Truax's team, he was diagnosed with a ?high-grade, partial-thickness tear of the Achilles tendon on his right ankle.? Truax initially sustained the Achilles injury in March, and the nature of the high-grade tear presented surgery and non-operative management as options. Truax elected for the latter option, starting with six weeks in a boot, then he transitioned to physical therapy and was progressing. As his workouts intensified, he was concerned about the strength of his Achilles tendon before a scheduled sparring session.
It was Dr. Paul Schaefer who advised Truax to not fight in order to not risk his health. According to Schaefer, Truax would not have been able to properly rehab the injury and be 100 percent for the fight against Truax on August 31.
The fight, which was going to be a title eliminator for the IBF super middleweight title, was originally set for a PBC on FOX card with the other co-feature being a junior middleweight bout between Erislandy Lara and Ramon Alvarez for the vacant WBA "Regular" title. The Lara vs. Alvarez fight was originally for the interim title, but was recently elevated so that the "Regular" title can be on the line.
The two super middleweights actually fought earlier this year in a title eliminator, but the bout ended in a no contest after Truax suffered a cut early in the bout due to an accidental clash of heads that caused the fight to be stopped and declared a no decision. The rematch was made in the hopes of creating a mandatory challenger for Caleb Plant's championship.