Velez's ankle injury scuttles title challenge vs. Ponce de Leon

Unbeaten Puerto Rican featherweight prospect Jayson Velez has suffered an ankle injury that has forced him out of a March 2 fight with WBC titleholder Daniel Ponce de Leon that was slated to happen at The Apollo Theater in New York.

Steve Kim of Maxboxing originally Tweeted the news, sourcing Ponce de Leon's manager Frank Espinoza. BoxingScene.com ran a copy of the doctor's note released by Velez.

Velez (20-0, 15 knockouts) is coming off December's third-round stoppage of Salvador Sanchez at New York's Madison Square Garden, and De Leon (44-4, 35 KOs), September's eight-round technical decision victory that dethroned countryman Jhonny Gonzalez.

Gaby Penagaricano, an attorney and legal advisor for Miguel Cotto, who promotes Velez, also could not be reached for an immediate comment.

In an e-mail to RingTV.com, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer confirmed that Velez "has" injured his ankle, but that the "rest of the card will go on."

The De Leon-Velez undercard is also to feature unbeaten lightweight contender Sharif "The Lion" Bogere (23-0, 15 KOs) and Richard Abril (17-3-1, 8 KOs) in a clash for the WBA's vacant belt, as well as featherweight prospect Gary Russell Jr. (21-0, 13 KOs) pursuing his fourth straight knockout against Russian standout Vyacheslav Gusev (20-2, 5 KOs).

Lem Satterfield can be reached at lemuel.satterfield@gmail.com