The Artur Beterbiev-Meng Fanlong fight was still on for March 28 as of Friday afternoon.

BoxingScene.com has been informed by multiple sources, though, that co-promoters Top Rank Inc. and Yvon Michel are seeking a site outside of Canada to stage their fight for Beterbiev’s IBF and WBC light heavyweight titles. Beterbiev, a Montreal resident raised in Russia, is supposed to make a mandatory defense of his IBF 175-pound championship against China’s Meng two weeks from Saturday night at Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada.

If the Beterbiev-Fanlong fight still happens March 28, it is not expected to be held in Quebec City due to coronavirus concerns. The government in the province of Quebec temporarily banned gatherings of over 250 people Thursday.

That precautionary measure would prevent fans from attending a Beterbiev-Meng card at Videotron Centre. That fight likely would take place without fans in attendance if it is moved to a venue in the United States on March 28, but by staging it somewhere within the U.S. it at least eliminates potential complications from international travel for many people involved in working the event.

Fanlong, a resident of China, lives in Bloomfield, New Jersey, when training for fights in nearby Paterson. Beterbiev trains in Montreal.

ESPN is supposed to televise the bout between Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs) and Fanlong (16-0, 10 KOs). Depending on how the coronavirus pandemic plays out, the Beterbiev-Fanlong card could be postponed altogether.

On Thursday night, Top Rank, the promotional company founded by Bob Arum, indefinitely postponed its shows scheduled for Saturday night and Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York.

Shakur Stevenson (13-0, 7 KOs), of Newark, New Jersey, was scheduled to defend his WBO featherweight title for the first time against Colombia’s Miguel Marriaga (29-3, 25 KOs) in a main event ESPN would’ve televised Saturday night. Michael Conlan (13-0, 7 KOs), a featherweight contender from Northern Ireland, was slated to box Colombia’s Belmar Preciado (20-2-1, 13 KOs) in a 10-round main event ESPN+ was supposed to stream Tuesday night.

Whenever and wherever he faces Fanlong, Beterbiev will fight for the first time since he knocked down Oleksandr Gvozdyk three times in the 10th round and stopped him October 18 in Philadelphia. Beterbiev won the WBC light heavyweight title from Ukraine’s Gvozdyk (17-1, 14 KOs) in a main event ESPN aired from Temple University’s Liacouras Center.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.