PHOTO GALLERY: Fight Bell Doesn't Ring for Skokie Boxer

After three months of training, Skokie native George Esho was chomping at the bit to get in the ring for his third professional boxing match.

The problem: ESPN wasn’t.

Due to time constraints caused by a late-finishing tennis broadcast, on Friday at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, IN, was postponed. Although it was the only bout canceled that night, others that did take place had the number of rounds reduced.

“It’s disappointing. I got sick last week, but I still wanted to fight today,” Esho said. “My family drove an hour in traffic. We went through a lot of stuff to get to this point, and last-minute too.”

Esho and Lucky were scheduled to be one of the undercard fights on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights. The main event featured middleweights Grady Brewer and Demetrius Andrade, and lightweight bout between Hank Lundy and David Diaz, who is from Chicago, was also televised.

The show also featured Chicago boxers Mike Kurzeja, Paulie Settepani and Montell Griffin, who once held the WBC Light Heavyweight Title.

Esho said his fight against Lucky would be rescheduled on the promoter’s next show. Although there is no definitive date set, Esho said it could be as early as September or October.

A sinus infection had sidelined Esho during the week leading up to his scheduled fight. He didn’t train for a couple days, but said on Friday that he felt the best he had in two weeks.

And now all Esho can do is wait until he’s called again. And maybe next time Novak Djokovic won’t take as long to defeat his next opponent.

“I’ll take a few days off to recoup my body,” Esho said. “After training for a fight, you take a week off to rest your body or else you break down…then I’ll continue my training.”