Fans have been anxiously counting down the days until Kazuto Ioka takes on Fernando Martinez on New Year’s Eve in Tokyo. However, Ioka’s Shisei gym said on Monday that the Argentine WBA super flyweight champion came down with a fever, which forced them to cancel the much-anticipated match at the last minute.
Martinez had already shown signs of illness when he missed a public training session last Thursday. He also missed Sunday’s signing ceremony, which raised alarm bells that something was amiss. Ioka was hungry for a comeback after Martinez defeated him by unanimous decision in the WBA-IBF unification fight in July.
Martinez has reportedly relinquished his IBF belt, skipping a mandatory title defense to make the fight.
Source link
