Martinez withdraws with influenza, Ioka's bout cancelled
33
After cancelling both his media work out, on December 26th, and the official signing ceremony, on December December 29th, WBA Super Flyweight champion Fernando Daniel Martinez (17-0, 9) has now cancelled his fight with Kazuto Ioka (31-3-1, 16) [井岡一翔], which was set to take place tomorrow, as the headline bout of the big New Year’s Eve card in Japan.
The bout was cancelled after Martinez’s team decided to withdraw their man, citing influenza as the reason, and saying he was unfit to fight. His manager, Rodrigo Calabrese, explained "His joints hurt and he's not in a condition to fight." It was then revealed that he had been diagnosed with the flu on December 25th, had a slight fever on December 26th, and had never really been able to recover. They also tried to suggest weight wasn’t a problem, echoing comments from December 26th, with Martinez was supposedly 2KG over the limit, a weight that isn’t hard to lose a few days before the weigh in.
Shisei Gym have revealed that refunds will be offered for those wanting them, however the rest of the card will go ahead as scheduled, and fans with tickets can attend the show, and the event will continue to be aired on Abema, free of charge.
Ioka, who had wanted to try and avenge his loss to Martinez from earlier this year, explained "I have mixed emotions, but I will accept the situation, switch gears and move on to the next thing." He added, "It would be best to fight Martinez," but was open to different options, saying "if that is not possible, I would like to negotiate with another world champion."
As mentioned, the rest of the show will go ahead, including the mouth watering clash between Hayato Tsutsumi (5-0, 2) [堤 駿斗] and Rene Alvarado (31-14, 22), who both made weight for their WBA Super Featherweight world title eliminator. On the scales Trsutusmi, for his first bout as a Super Featherweight, was 129.7lbs whilst Alvarado, a former WBA champion, was 128.5lbs, with both looking in great shape. With the cancellation of the Martinez Vs Ioka bout this has become the show’s main event.
The bout was cancelled after Martinez’s team decided to withdraw their man, citing influenza as the reason, and saying he was unfit to fight. His manager, Rodrigo Calabrese, explained "His joints hurt and he's not in a condition to fight." It was then revealed that he had been diagnosed with the flu on December 25th, had a slight fever on December 26th, and had never really been able to recover. They also tried to suggest weight wasn’t a problem, echoing comments from December 26th, with Martinez was supposedly 2KG over the limit, a weight that isn’t hard to lose a few days before the weigh in.
Shisei Gym have revealed that refunds will be offered for those wanting them, however the rest of the card will go ahead as scheduled, and fans with tickets can attend the show, and the event will continue to be aired on Abema, free of charge.
Ioka, who had wanted to try and avenge his loss to Martinez from earlier this year, explained "I have mixed emotions, but I will accept the situation, switch gears and move on to the next thing." He added, "It would be best to fight Martinez," but was open to different options, saying "if that is not possible, I would like to negotiate with another world champion."
As mentioned, the rest of the show will go ahead, including the mouth watering clash between Hayato Tsutsumi (5-0, 2) [堤 駿斗] and Rene Alvarado (31-14, 22), who both made weight for their WBA Super Featherweight world title eliminator. On the scales Trsutusmi, for his first bout as a Super Featherweight, was 129.7lbs whilst Alvarado, a former WBA champion, was 128.5lbs, with both looking in great shape. With the cancellation of the Martinez Vs Ioka bout this has become the show’s main event.