Headliner Pulls Out of Bout in Irvine

For the second time in a month, half of boxing promoter Roy Englebrecht’s main event has fallen apart.

Englebrecht was notified Sunday that world flyweight champion Isidro “Chino” Garcia was being forced by the World Boxing Organization to pull out of his non-title fight tonight at the Irvine Marriott against Jose Mulgado of Mexicali and defend his title in August.

Englebrecht said he found a replacement for Garcia in Javier Varguez (41-21) of Merida, Mexico. But the promoter is out a world champion and his main event suddenly doesn’t look so attractive.

“Once again, the ugly head of sleaziness has reared its head again in boxing,” Englebrecht said Wednesday.

The setback came just three weeks after visa problems kept Jacobo Garcia of Tijuana from his Mexican light heavyweight title bout against Julio Gonzalez of Huntington Beach. Englebrecht replaced Garcia with journeyman Tony Menefee of Nebraska, who took the fight at the Arrowhead Pond on 36 hours notice. Menefee was unprepared and lost in a fourth-round knockout.

This time, Englebrecht said he is being burned by the WBO, which said Garcia would be stripped of his title if he fought Mulgado before his Aug. 12 mandatory defense in Argentina against No. 1 contender Domingo Soto.

“Frank Espinoza [Garcia’s manager] told me he didn’t know his fighter was even fighting a title bout until he read it in a Mexico City newspaper last Saturday,” Englebrecht said. “I find it inconceivable that the WBO wouldn’t notify the manager about a fight. When were they going to tell him?”

Englebrecht said he was so disgusted with Espinoza that he considered putting up a fight with the state athletic commission.

“I’m suffering on this,” he said. “I could have taken [Espinoza] to the commission and said, ‘You’ve got a signed fight contract.’ But I don’t want to burn a bridge.”

Espinoza did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Varguez, 36, has lost world title bouts to Michael Carbajal and Ricardo Lopez. Mulgado is 8-4 with five knockouts.

On the undercard, which begins at 7:30, super welterweight Jason Parillo (4-0, three knockouts) will face Miguel Angel Rivas (2-1) of Bell and super middleweight Enrique Ornelas (4-0) of La Habra fights Harold Lowe (2-1) of Palmdale.