Ebanie Bridges will have a new challenger for her U.S. return.

BoxingScene.com has confirmed that Avril Mathie has suffered an undisclosed injury and was pulled from what would have been her first career title fight. Their bout was due to appear on the undercard of the Regis Prograis-Devin Haney DAZN Pay-Per-View on December 9 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California.

Representatives from Matchroom Boxing were not in a position to confirm details regarding Bridges’ injury or the status of her new opponent. Boxing Scene has confirmed, however, that the reigning IBF bantamweight titlist will remain on the show and with the replacement challenger expected to be announced within the next 24 hours.

Bridges (9-1, 4KOs) will attempt the second defense of the IBF bantamweight title she claimed in a ten-round decision over Maria Cecilia Roman last March at First Direct Arena in Leeds, England. She followed up with an eighth-round knockout of countrywoman and bitter rival Shannon O’Connell last December 10 also at First Direct Arena.

The 37-year-old spent most of 2023 recovering from injuries before she secured a place on the Prograis-Haney card in what will mark her first fight on U.S. soil since February 2020.

Mathie (8-1-1, 3KOs) was eager to proceed with the all-Australia battle and insisted on remaining in the fight despite the injury. The 36-year-old bantamweight—who lives and trains in Miami—will have to wait until 2024 for her shot.

The fallout marks the second fight on this show to get hit with an injury. Matchroom has actively pursued a new opponent for Cuba’s Andy Cruz (1-0, 0KOs), the 2020 Olympic Gold medalist who is already being fast-tracked as a pro. As previously reported by Boxing Scene, Cruz was due to face San Antonio’s Hector Tanajara who withdrew fron the fight earlier this month.

Boxing Scene has learned the leading candidate to face Cruz, though confirmation of the fight is dependent upon resolution of a lingering visa issue for the new sought opponent.

Headlining the show, Prograis (29-1, 24KOs) will attempt the second defense of his WBC junior welterweight title. The New Orleans-bred, Houston-based southpaw outpointed Danielto Zorrilla over twelve-rounds in his New Orleans childhood hometown this past June. He now travels to his opponent’s birth town.

Haney (30-0, 15KOs) parks his lineal and unified lightweight championship reign in a bid to become a two-division champ. The 25-year-old was born in San Francisco and lived in Oakland before they relocated to Las Vegas, where he currently resides. The bout will mark his first in the Bay Area.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox