Derrick Gainer injured

Chris Askov

11.08 - An injury suffered by Derrick "Smoke" Gainer has cancelled his featherweight title unification bout against IBF champ Juan Manuel Marquez scheduled for this Saturday night.

An MRI confirmed that Gainer, WBA champ, tore his pectoral muscle while training a week previously. The cancellation of the much ballyhooed 130 lbs. title fight was supposed to be the main event for HBO's "Boxing after dark" (August 16).

Despite the intriguing undercard bout between veteran Mark "too sharpe" Johnson and Fernando Montiel the card will likely not be televised unless a suitable replacement bout can be arranged. In an effort save the show, HBO may move up Jose Navarro vs. Adonis Rivas which was originally set to air on HBO Latino's presentation of "Boxeoo de Oro" August 21.

Despite being cancelled for the second time, look for "Gainer vs, Marquez" to be promoted again at a later date. Since neither "Smoke" or Marquez is very high on Marco Antonio Barrera wish list, it only makes sense for the them to fight each other.