IBF super flyweight world champion Fernando Martinez (17-0, 9 KOs) has pulled out of his previously scheduled rematch against former four-division world champion Kazuto Ioka (31-3-1, 15 KOs) due to a bout of the flu. match on December 31st.
The rematch was delayed
No word yet on when they plan to reschedule the match. It will obviously take time for Argentina’s Martin, 33, to recover from his illness, but it shouldn’t take long under ideal conditions.
That’s bad news for the fans, but perhaps good news for the 35-year-old Ioka, who was soundly defeated in their previous fight on July 7 in Tokyo, Japan.
Ioka will have to find it Fountain of Youth to defeat Martinez in the rematch. Martinez looked very old in his loss last July. He’s looked poor in recent fights over the past three years, but Martinez put a stamp on that with his one-sided victory last summer.
The scores
117-111
120-108
116-112
Given the one-sided match, it’s almost pointless for a rematch other than professionally. It wasn’t a competitive enough match for a rematch, but from Ioka’s point of view, it’s understandable why he’d at least want to avenge the loss. He had never been beaten so hard in 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. Yoka looked awful in both matches and was very lucky to escape without suffering a pair of losses.
“Good decision by the team “Puma” not to let him fight with a case of flu. We are waiting for a decision on postponement or a decision to be made on this,” said Salvador Rodriguez. Xreacting to the news that IBF super flyweight champion Fernando Martinez has opted out of his rematch against Kazuto Ioka due to illness. “Champion ‘Puma’ Martinez will not compete on December 31 due to flu”.
2024-12-30 14:24:00
