IBF world super flyweight champion Fernando Martinez (17-0, 9 KOs) has withdrawn from his rematch against former four-division world champion Kazuto Ioka (31-3-1, 15 KOs) to a case of influence for its intended precedent. fight on December 31st.
Rematch delayed
There is no word yet on when they plan to reschedule the fight. It will take time, obviously, for the Argentine Martin, 33 years old, to recover from his illness, but it should not be too long under ideal circumstances.
That’s bad news for fans, but perhaps a good thing for the 35-year-old Ioka, who was soundly beaten in his previous fight on July 7 in Tokyo, Japan.
Ioka will have to find the Fountain of Youth to defeat Martinez in the rematch. Martinez looked very old in his loss last July. In the last three years he has looked poor in recent fights, but Martinez put a stamp on it with his one-sided victory last summer.
The scores
117-111
120-108
116-112
Given the one-sided fight, it’s almost useless for a rematch other than for business. It wasn’t a competitive enough fight for a rematch, but from Ioka’s point of view, it’s understandable why he wanted to at least try to avenge the loss. He had never been beaten so hard before during his 15-year career.
However, his performances against Joshua Franco in 2022 and 2023 already indicated that Ioka was nearing the end of his career. Ioka looked terrible in both fights and was very lucky to escape without suffering a couple of defeats.
“Good decision by the team “Puma” to not let him fight with a case of influenza. We are waiting for a decision on postponement or a decision to be taken in this regard,” said Salvador Rodriguez XReacting to the news of IBF super flyweight champion Fernando Martinez chooses not to go ahead with his rematch against Kazuto Ioka due to illness. “Champion ‘Puma’ Martinez will not fight on December 31st due to the flu”.
