Magomed Kurbanov and Patrick Teixeira face threat of yet another postponement.

The ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War has prompted the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and IBO to take a firm stance regarding its sanctioning of upcoming fights. All five organizations have ceased lending its approval of any fight currently scheduled in Russia during the nation’s ongoing invasion of neighboring Ukraine, with the WBA and WBO taking the additional step to not even recognize Russia in its rankings for the foreseeable future.

The upcoming junior middleweight clash between Kurbanov and Teixeira unfortunately checks off every box, in addition to taking three months later than originally intended to be the case. The show is currently scheduled to take place March 26 at KRK Uralets in Ekaterinburg, Russia, and with the WBO International junior middleweight title at stake. The bout was due to take place December 11, only for Kurbanov to withdraw due to breaking out with a fever after the weigh-in and unable to proceed.

Kurbanov-Teixeira is one of four bouts on the card previously carrying either WBA or WBO sanctioning, including secondary WBA cruiserweight titlist Ryad Merhy (30-1, 25KOs) of Belgium and Russia’s 2016 Olympic Gold medalist Evgeny Tishchenko (9-1, 6KOs). The language in the sanctioning bodies’ rulings would certainly put both fights at risk, or at least the stakes.

“We will await the final answer from the WBA before deciding,” German Titov, head of Titov/RCC Boxing Promotions told BoxingScene.com.

The sentiment carried by the veteran promoter is the same as with nearly everyone else in the sport and the majority of the world in general—hope for peace and a resolution in the near future.

That line of thinking is shared by visiting fighters who will eventually have a difficult choice to make if the event remains on as scheduled and the ongoing war is not resolved by that point.

“We are still in training and hope all is resolved soon,” Patrick Nascimento, Teixeira’s manager, told BoxingScene.com.

To date, none of the fighters on the March 26 show have spoken out in favor of the war—an action that will be met with removal from the WBA rankings according to its eight-point Pursuit of Peace mandate handed down Monday. The sanctioning body will cease allowing unranked Russian boxers to enter the rankings, as well as denying its sanctioning of any fights in Russia or Belarus during this time of conflict. The organization has also called for Russian fighters to not fly or display its national flag, refer to the country by name or have its national anthem performed.

The ruling is in line with similar sanctions imposed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who initially banned all Russian athletes from participating in the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics last summer. A loophole softened that stance, though on the condition that said athletes enter under the banner of ROC—Russian Olympic Committee, though which couldn’t even be spelled out during the Games, as the representation was limited to the acronym itself.

Any decision on whether to cancel the show will likely come in the next ten days, as event handlers will have to leave ample time for visiting fighters to travel into the country.

Ekaterinburg is more than 1,300 miles from the Ukraine border, which Russian forces crossed on February 24 to officially launch its invasion. The unlawful entry has received near-universal condemnation and international sanctions on Russia, along with massive protests throughout the world—including throughout Russia, where an estimated 6,000 anti-war protesters have been detained in the nation as of Monday evening.

Kurbanov (22-0, 13KOs) has not fought since a disputed 12-round win over England's Liam Smith last May, at the very venue due to host the March 26 show. Brazil's Teixeira (31-2, 22KOs) aims to rebound following his unanimous decision defeat to Brian Castano last February 13, which ended his WBO junior middleweight title reign. 

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