Super flyweight world champion Fernando Martinez (17-0, 9 KOs) has withdrawn from his rematch against former four-division world champion Kazuto Ioka (31-3-1, 15 KOs) due to a case of the flu previously scheduled to fight on December 31.

The rematch was delayed

There’s no word yet on when they plan to reschedule the fight. It will obviously take some time for Argentine Martin, 33, to recover from his illness, but it shouldn’t take long under ideal circumstances.

That’s bad news for fans but perhaps a good thing for the 35-year-old Ioka, who suffered a crushing defeat in her previous fight on July 7 in Tokyo, Japan.

Ioka will have to find Fountain of youth To defeat Martinez in a rematch. Martinez looked old in his loss last July. He has looked poor in recent fights over the past three years, but Martinez put a stamp on that with a one-sided win last summer.

Dozens

117-111
120-108
116-112

Due to the one-sided combat, it is almost pointless to rematch other than work. It wasn’t a competitive enough fight for a rematch, but from Ioka’s point of view, it’s understandable why he would want to at least try to avenge the loss. He had never been hit so hard before in his 15-year career.

However, his performances against Joshua Franco in 2022 and 2023 already suggested that Ioka was nearing the end of his career. Ioka looked bad in both fights and was very lucky to escape without suffering two defeats.

“A good decision by the Puma team not to allow him to fight the flu case. We are awaiting the decision to postpone or make a decision in this regard,” said Salvador Rodriguez. Xin response to the news of IBF super flyweight champion Fernando Martinez choosing not to go ahead with his rematch against Kazuto Ioka due to illness. “Champion ‘Puma’ Martinez will not fight on December 31 due to the flu.”