Saturday was meant to be a historic day for St Albans boxer Ben Callum but it wasn’t to be.

He was due to make his professional bow at Harrow Leisure Centre but the event was shelved after the British Boxing Board Of Control cancelled all events to help try and halt the spread of coronavirus.

He said: “I’ve worked so hard in training leading up to this fight so it is a big disappointment. I was really looking forward to putting on a show and had over 200 supporters from St Albans coming to support me.

“But I’ll just be patient and will wait for things to calm down with this virus.”

Trainer Andy Smith, who runs ShoeSmiths Heelbar in The Maltings said: “The event being cancelled was the news we were dreading but as the fight-date drew closer we knew it was inevitable.

“We just have to get on with things now and prepare for when the everything has died down. Ben will be stronger, fitter and sharper as he’ll have had a longer camp”

Manager Mickey Helliet said: “A lot of people are taking interest in Ben Callum due to his stellar MMA career and he has been impressive in his sparring with world number one ranked contender Dillian Whyte.

“This is one of the little upsets that can happen in boxing and Ben will just keep fine-tuning and as soon as the ban is lifted I will have a new date for him.”