Dr. Nabha reported that Ar-Raazi showed six arguments proving that the prohibition was in effect, but Al-Asfahaani rejected them all. Dr. Nabha did not list the arguments or the counter-arguments. I wish he did.
Dr. Mustafa Zayd, in his book النسخ في القرآن الكريم, volume 2, pages 134-139 (items 873-882) agrees that mating must have been forbidden before and thus the pro-abrogation folk have a point here. However, none of the narrations he quotes state that the Prophet, peace be upon him, was the one who issued the prohibition. He concludes that he must have and calls that, like As-Suyooti likes to call it, the
practical Sunna. I humbly disagree. We do not know the Sunna from acts of the Sahaaba; we know it from acts and words of the Prophet (PBUH).
That being said, Dr. Zayd rejects the claim of abrogation, because he says 2:183 does not prove that God prohibited mating at first, so if 2:187 abrogated anything, it abrogated that "practical Sunna", not 2:183.
Perhaps we should get a copy of Ar-Raazi's exegesis التفسير الكبير to see if the evidence he provided amounts to proof of prohibition.