Amir Khan is set to face a new opponent for his showcase fight in the Middle East after the man he was due to face was seriously injured in a car crash.
The Bolton boxer was due to face Asian welterweight champion Neeraj Goyat in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on July 12.
The clash with the relatively-unknown Indian star Goyat, was being dubbed as an 'India v Pakistan' clash due to Khan's heritage.
The World Boxing Council (WBC) had commissioned a special 'Pearl' belt which would have been up for grabs.
But he will now instead face 33-year-old Australian Billy Dib after Goyat suffered 'serious' injuries in a road smash.
It will be Khan's first time back in the ring after his crushing loss to WBO world champion Terrence Crawford at Madison Square Garden in New York in April.
Khan was accused of 'quitting' in that fight after his corner said he was unable to continue after a low blow in the sixth round.
Khan, earning a reported £7m for the bout with Goyat, said he took the fight as he wanted to quickly get over the Crawford loss and set up other big fights either in the UK or America.
He had been in Saudi Arabia this week promoting the fight.
But his 27-year-old opponent suffered head, face and left arm injuries in the crash which happened whilst travelling back from training.
Bill Dosanjh, promoter of the Super Boxing League, released the news in a statement saying: "We are very sad to inform that our star Indian boxer Neeraj Goyat who was preparing for his mega-fight against Amir Khan met with a car accident last night that has caused him severe injuries on his head, face and left arm.
"He is currently in hospital and we wish him a speedy recovery."
Khan will now face 33 year-old Australian Dib who fought at featherweight.
He described it as his "real-life Rocky moment."
"In life you get a limited number of opportunities to do something monumental, and like the greatest in any industry will tell you, when an opportunity comes knocking you answer," he said.
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An Olympic gold medallist in 2008, Khan has admitted he is still smarting from the loss to Crawford.
“That fight, I just can’t live with it. It did upset me. I’m one of those guys who, if I get knocked down, I get back up. I fight with my heart" he said.
“Reading the comments and stuff about me afterwards, that’s why I had to get this fight, to fight again as soon as possible.
"If that fight had not gone the way it did, I’d never have taken this fight. I want to erase that fight from my memory, move forward, get back to winning ways, and just keep busy.”
