Neeraj Goyat Misses Out on Amir Khan Fight with Injuries

It was deemed a huge mismatch against the Manchester-born former two-time light-welterweight champion, but it was also a massive opportunity for the Indian native to earn a sizeable payday and have his name up in lights on a high-profile card.

But his potential dream scenario and grand chance against 'King' Khan has come abruptly crashing down after a devastating injury setback, which he recently sustained just days away from the big fight night.

On the eve of this great opportunity, Goyat was unfortunately involved in a worrying car crash in which he sustained serious head injuries that have ruled him out of proceedings.

Khan will now instead climb into the ring on July 12th to face off with stand-in opponent Billy Dib, a former world champion from Australia who most recently overcame Fonluang Sor Singyu earlier this year in Sydney.

The 32-year-old Briton will take to the ring in Saudi Arabia to contest his replacement foe as the overwhelming odds-on 1/25 favourite in the latest boxing betting to prevail as widely expected and avoid any devastating shock on his travels.

After Indian hopeful Goyat was untimely ruled out of action with his frightening injury problems, eyebrows have been raised over the selection of stand-in opponent for Khan.

Dib is a former IBF featherweight titleholder, having won the belt back in 2011 and holding it until 2013. That's the 126 pounds division, which is a worrying three classes below what Khan usually competes at, which raises plenty of concerns around the legitimacy of the latest scheduled bout and how things may go come fight night.

In light of the great opportunity Dib has gained after Goyat's forced withdrawal from the Saudi Arabia match-up, the fighter from Down Under expressed an emotional message to fans ahead of the clash.

"I always dreamed to be involved in a fight of this magnitude," he outlined after replacing the initial Indian opponent for Bolton fighter Khan.

"After 20 years in the sport of boxing, it’s finally happening. I have faced great champions in the past but facing Amir Khan is definitely my toughest test."
Khan admirably expressed his concern for Goyat after the news of his car crash, stating that he hopes the Indian "Neeraj recovers quickly" and returns to full fitness once again in the near future.

Goyat, from Village Begampur, Haryana, will now be focusing on making a swift recovery to full fitness and health rather than preparing for a big fight night against Khan in Jeddah. It's not the situation he thought he'd be in ahead of the July 12th meeting but it's a better one than could've happened given the nature of his sustained injury.

While he recovers, Britain's Khan is now getting ready to face off with a stand-in opponent in a fight which he would be unable to bounce back from in his career if he was to taste a huge upset on his travels.