'Saved by the Bell' star replaces Dykstra in celebrity fight in Atlantic City

Dustin Diamond, who played Screech on Saved by the Bell, has replaced former Philadelphia Phillie Lenny Dykstra in the bout, Celebrity Boxing promoter Damon Feldman told the Inquirer.

Dykstra pulled out of this match earlier this week citing a recently filed lawsuit that will soon go to trial.

Feldman says he reached out to Diamond, 42, shortly after Dykstra announced he would no longer be participating in the fight against Morgan, 45, who earned his Bagel Boss Guy nickname after a video of him throwing a tantrum at a New York City bagel shop went viral earlier this year. The “Saved By the Bell” star previously fought in a Celebrity Boxing match back in 2002, when he won a bout against Ron Palillo, who his best known as Horshack from “Welcome Back Kotter.”

Morgan reportedly is about 5-feet tall, while Diamond stands at 6-feet.

While the pairing may seem like something of a mismatch, Morgan reportedly has been training for the match with UFC fighters like Chris Weidman and Al Iaquinta. So, as Feldman said in a phone interview, Morgan’s chances might be a little better than it may seem.

“He’ll battle it out a little,” Feldman said. “We’ll see.”

Fans will find out Saturday, when Morgan and Diamond bump gloves at the Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City. Tickets for the fight are still available.

The card initially was set to include Dykstra, who agreed to fight Morgan last month. Dykstra had been promoting the fight since then, including with a press stop last month at Tony Luke’s in South Philly, where he and Morgan got into a brief, but heated, brawl.

The former Phillie announced he was pulling out of the match earlier this week, saying in call-in interview on the Howard Stern Show that he and his attorneys are looking to focus on a lawsuit against a Los Angeles-area law firm that he claims bungled a previous case against LA County.

In the previous suit, Dykstra alleged he was severely beaten during a 2012 sentence at Men’s Central Jail.

“We’re playing for real money here, and seven years of my life has been involved,” Dykstra told Stern this week. “Attorneys, when they don’t do their job and are negligent, they have to be held accountable.”

Dykstra’s decision to pull out of the fight was the event’s second high-profile departure. Previously, West Chester native Bam Margera was set to referee the match, but canceled his appearance following a return to rehab. Feldman reportedly released Margera from his contract.