Kim Clavel will have to wait until the new year for her first major title shot.

An undisclosed injury has forced the unbeaten junior flyweight off of the December 17 show at Bell Centre in her hometown of Montreal, Canada. Clavel (14-0, 2KOs) was due to challenge reigning WBC junior flyweight titlist Yesenia Gomez (19-5-3, 6KOs) as one of three scheduled title fights on the show.

“We have to officially announce that Kim Klavel got injured,” Yvon Michel, head of GYM Promotions confirmed on Thursday. “We received the diagnosis from Dr. Fontaine this morning. Kim will have to undergo treatments for the next 3 weeks.

“Her WBC fight on December 17 is therefore postponed to a later date.”

Clavel achieved fame early in her career, winning the Pat Tillman Award for Courage during the 2020 ESPY Awards in honor of her working on the frontline as a nurse during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. She has fought three times since then, including an eight-round win over unbeaten Natalie Gonzalez in her stateside debut last July 21 in Las Vegas.

The 31-year-old contender took a major step towards fighting for a major title after scoring a ten-round win over Maria Soledad Vargas this past August 28 in Montreal. The bout came with the WBC Silver title at stake, positioning her for a shot at Cancun’s Gomez.

That opportunity will have to wait. Three weeks’ worth of physical rehabilitation will keep Clavel out of the ring until at least the first quarter of 2022.

The balance of the show will move forward, including the evening’s main event. Lineal/WBC/IBF light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (16-0, 16KOs) defends his title versus Staten Island’s Marcus Browne (24-1, 16KOs), airing live on ESPN+. Also on the show, former IBF junior middleweight titlist Marie Eve Dicaire (17-1, 0KOs) attempts to regain her old belt in a vacant title fight versus unbeaten Cynthia Lozano (9-0, 7KOs).

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox