UNDEFEATED Welshman Rhys Edwards has stepped in to fight Peter McGrail in Riyadh this weekend.
McGrail had been set to face Dennis McCann on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk’s world title rematch with Tyson Fury until ‘The Menace’ failed a drugs test.
It looked as though McGrail might have to miss the Riyadh Season event altogether but now Turki Al-Alshikh has confirmed they have secured a last-minute opponent for the Liverpool super-bantamweight.
Edwards had been scheduled to face Leon Woodstock in Sheffield next month but has agreed to take on McGrail at short notice.
Al-Alshikh wrote on Twitter: “It is now confirmed that Peter McGrail will stay on this Saturday’s card to face unbeaten British contender Rhys Edwards as part of the #Usyk2Fury rematch undercard.”
Edwards arrives in Saudi Arabia with good momentum after beating both Thomas Patrick Ward and Brad Foster on points since stepping up to the 10-round limit.
As a result of those two victories, the latest of which came in May, 24-year-old Edwards is 16-0 (4) while southpaw McGrail, 28, is 10-1 (6).
Incidentally, McGrail’s last opponent was Foster, who he stopped inside two rounds at the Park Community Arena in Sheffield in September.
