There will be brighter days ahead and bigger fights in store for Damon Allen Jr.

An all-Philadelphia lightweight showdown with Steven Ortiz seemingly isn’t meant to be part of those plans.

Allen was forced to withdraw from his planned showdown with Ortiz after fracturing his right hand in sparring on Wednesday, Allen's team confirmed to BoxingScene.com. The latest efforts to resuscitate the fight called for the two to meet on March 10 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The bout was to have served in supporting capacity to the recently announced main event between Brandun Lee and Samuel Teah. Ortiz (11-0, 3KOs) took it upon himself to reveal the news through social media, while Allen (16-1-1, 5KOs) did his best to align his own announcement with something more formal from the network.

Instead, all he could offer was the latest disappointing development.

“To say I’m disappointed right now is an understatement,” said Allen, who hasn’t fought since Oct. 2019. “I fractured my hand while sparring [Wednesday]. I was looking forward to announcing my upcoming fight next month.

“I appreciate your thoughts, prayers and well wishes. I’ll be back punching soon.”

Allen and Ortiz were initially due to meet last March 27, atop a “Philly Special”-branded show to have been presented by Michelle ‘Raging Babe’ Rosado live on Impact Network from 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. The venue was well on its way to being completely sold out for the local attraction, only for the event to get shut down due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Efforts to reconnect with Impact Network to reschedule proved futile, as did other attempts to place the bout elsewhere. Lou DiBella, Ortiz’s Hall of Fame-elected promoter was able to work the fight onto the March 10 Showtime card which will also include Victor Padilla (8-0, 7KOs), an unbeaten lightweight from Berlin, New Jersey by way of Puerto Rico.

Ortiz and Allen were deep into training camp for their oft-delayed clash, only for a sparring session gone wrong removing Allen from the mix.

A TV-worthy opponent will have to be secured and approved in order for Ortiz to remain on the card.

Allen—who is guided by Split-T Management’s Tim VanNewhouse—has been out of the ring since a six-round decision win over Dieumerci Nzau in Oct. 2019 in his Philly hometown. The bout came more than a year after his previous fight, also the lone defeat of his career as he was stopped inside of seven rounds by Jonathan Navarro in their August 2018 clash of unbeaten lightweight prospects.

Ortiz last fought in Sept. 2019, claiming an eight-round majority decision win over Alejandro Salinas in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, roughly 20 miles from his North Philly hometown.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox