Simon Mar­cus released the fol­low­ing state­ment ear­lier on Muay Thai Media Net­work regard­ing his with­drawal from the bout with Artem Levin. The fight was going to be for the WBC Light Heavy­weight World Title. “Bat­tle of the Belts” was orig­i­nally sched­uled for June 9th, in Bangkok, Thai­land. Since the ini­tial announce­ment he would not be fight­ing Artem Levin any longer. Levin has also with­drawn from the bout due to knee surgery from our understanding.

“I would like to address the Muay Thai com­mu­nity and all of my fans about the recent can­cel­la­tion of my title fight with Artem Levin, sched­uled for June 9th, 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Simon Mar­cus Vs. Joe Schilling Rematch Las Vegas, NV

I would like to end any spec­u­la­tion that I was injured and that this was the rea­son I was not able to com­pete. The fight with Artem Levin will not hap­pen June 9th due to var­i­ous fac­tors that are beyond my con­trol. When I was informed that there was a good pos­si­bil­ity that Levin would not be fight­ing, my camp and I decided that it was in our best inter­est to with­draw from the bout. I feel that fight­ing any­one else for an interim world title is not in my best inter­est. I am only inter­ested in fight­ing Artem for the world title he cur­rently holds. As it has been reported recently, he will not be able to com­pete on June 9th.

In addi­tion, con­trac­tual issues played a roll in our decision-making. As a fighter some­times there are things you can­not con­trol out­side of the ring and it can be dis­ap­point­ing on a per­sonal level as well as for the fans; how­ever, I would like to inform all the Muay Thai fans that it will not be long before you see Simon Mar­cus vs. Artem Levin. Thanks to all for the love and support.

Love, Respect, Believe,
Simon ”Bad Bwoy” Marcus”