Fans have been anxiously counting down the days until Kazuto Ioka faces Fernando Martinez on New Year's Eve in Tokyo. However, Ioka's Shisei Gym said on Monday that the Argentine WBA super flyweight champion had come down with 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 general training session last Thursday. He also missed the signing ceremony on Sunday, which set off alarm bells that something was seriously wrong. It's a powerful punch for Ioka, who was hungry for a comeback after Martinez defeated him via unanimous decision in a WBA-IBF unification bout in July.
Martinez reportedly gave up his IBF belt, skipping the mandatory title defense to make this rematch happen.
