For Dennis McCann, circumstances unfolded in an unfortunate way. Just a week ago, the 23-year-old boasted one of the best opportunities in the boxing world. A win over Peter McGrail on the Tyson Fury–Oleksandr Usyk undercard would have hoisted his career to an altogether different trajectory. But fate had other plans. Drug tests conducted for the upcoming bout at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena reportedly came up with ‘adverse findings’. The bout against McGrail ended before it could even begin.

Subsequent reports revealed that McGrail made it back to the roster. The incident has nonetheless cast a cloud over an undercard that has been facing increasing scrutiny. The lead-up to the Fury-Usyk show witnessed a high-profile withdrawal when reporting ‘acute bronchitis’, Israil Madrimov pulled out of the high-octane bout against Serhii Bohachuk. As the boxing world continues to come to terms with the challenges weighing down a mega event, Frank Warren offered some insights into Dennis McCann’s doping issue.

Frank Warren on the Dennis McCann case: There’s more beneath the surface.

Boxing News’ Andi Purewal was speaking with Warren. He checked if the Queensberry boss could shed some more light on the Dennis McCann issue. Warren replied, “His urine test came out positive. We haven’t had the result of his B sample yet. His blood sample came out negative.”

So the team awaits the results of the secondary sample. Warren explained that as of now the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) has put ‘The Menace’ under suspension and handed over his case to the United Kingdom Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD).

“UKAD will convene a hearing. Until after the result of that hearing, I can’t give you any further information,” said the Queensberry Promotions head. Based on an earlier update that he gave during an interview, the reporter checked, “Are there multiple things that came up in his adverse findings?”

“There was a couple in there. Yeah,” responded Frank Warren.

Last week, Riyadh Season head HE Turki Alalshikh announced that, following the unfavorable results of the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) anti-doping tests, the Dennis McCann-Peter McGrail fight has been removed from the Fury-Usyk ‘Reignited’ event. However, days later, he revealed that McGrail will continue to be a part of the mega show. The 28-year-old southpaw will now face unbeaten Welshman Rhys Edwards.

A marquee fight overshadowing an otherwise thin lineup

One concern regarding the Fury-Usyk fight has been the lack of prominent names in the co-main event and undercards. Invariably, fans and followers are quick enough to draw comparisons. A few upcoming shows have become easy picks to cite instances. The rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol features some of the biggest names in boxing today. With the likes of Daniel Dubois, Vergil Ortiz Jr., and Shakur Stevenson participating, many deem ‘The Last Crescendo’ as the greatest card in boxing history.

Then, weeks before, on February 1, the PBC-Amazon Prime show featuring the David Benavidez–David Morrell headliner offers an array of exciting fights. It includes a title bout between Brandon Figueroa and Stephen Fulton. Following his loss to Jose Valenzuela early in August, the event will stage the comeback of former champion Isaac Cruz.

As a result, fans are noticing a less stacked card, despite it featuring one of the biggest fights of the year.

What do you think? Do you feel it’s too soon to make a judgment on the Fury-Usyk card? Some of the matchups still hold a lot of potential for excitement.