Kazuto Ioka vs. Fernando Martinez was called up due to illness

Fans were eagerly counting down the days until Kazuto Ioka and Fernando Martinez clash on New Year’s Eve in Tokyo. However, Ioka’s Shisei Gym said on Monday that the Argentine WBA flyweight champion was suffering from the flu, forcing them to cancel this highly anticipated bout at the last minute.

Martinez had already shown signs of illness when he canceled a public training session last Thursday. He also missed Sunday’s signing ceremony, which raised alarm bells that something was seriously wrong. It’s a gut punch for Ioka, who was hungry for a comeback after Martinez defeated him by unanimous decision in July’s WBA-IBF unification bout.

Martinez reportedly relinquished his IBF belt, skipping a mandatory title defense to make this rematch happen.