The first show to take place in California in more than four months will now carry one less fight.

Mercito Gesta (32-3-3, 17KOs) was forced to withdraw from his scheduled July 24 lightweight clash with San Antonio’s Hector Tanajara (19-0, 5KOs). Their bout was to serve as the evening’s chief support, but was removed after Philippines’ Gesta went down for the count after a battle with food poisoning which began Wednesday evening.

ESPN.com's Steve Kim was the first to report the development.

The rest of the card remains intact for Friday, streaming live on DAZN from a crowdless Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. Headlining the show, 2019 Prospect of the Year Vergil Ortiz Jr. (15-0, 15KOs) meets Canada’s Samuel Vargas (31-5-2, 14KOs) in a 12-round welterweight contest.

Second-generation boxer Shane Mosley Jr. (15-3, 9KOs)—the son of Hall of Fame former three-division champion Shane Mosley—will now command the chief support slot. He faces Colorado Springs' Jeremy Ramos in a middleweight bout scheduled for eight rounds.  

Tanajara trained with Ortiz—both work with renowned trainer Robert Garcia—in preparing for what would have been his second fight of 2020 and in a significant step-up in class. The late fallout coupled with the safety protocols in place in the enclosed environment did not leave room for a replacement opponent to be secured in time.

Ortiz will enter his first fight of the year, following an explosive four-win campaign in 2019. The unbeaten welterweight from Grand Prairie, Texas was universally hailed as the sport’s top prospect by year’s end and with designs on chasing a major title. That journey was to have begun with a clash versus Vargas this past March at The Forum in Inglewood, California, only to get shut down during the initial wave of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Efforts to reschedule the bout proved successful, with Ortiz headlining the first card to take place in California since March 6. It also marks DAZN’s first boxing live stream since February 29, when Mikey Garcia (younger brother of Robert Garcia, Ortiz’s head trainer) scored a spirited 12-round decision over Jessie Vargas in Frisco, Texas.

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