IBF world superflyweight champion Fernando Martinez (17-0, 9 KOs) has pulled out of his rematch against former four-division world champion Kazuto Ioka (31-3-1, 15 KOs) due to a case of the flu for their previously scheduled rematch on the 31st. December.
Rematch postponed
There is still no word on when they plan to postpone the fight. It will obviously take time for Argentinean Martin (33) to recover from his illness, but under ideal circumstances it shouldn't be too long.
That's bad news for the fans, but perhaps a good thing for the 35-year-old Ioka, who was soundly defeated in their previous fight on July 7 in Tokyo, Japan.
Iok will have to find it Fountain of youth defeat Martinez in the rematch. Martinez looked very old in the loss last July. He has looked bad in recent fights over the past three years, but Martinez put the stamp on that with his one-sided victory last summer.
The results
117-111 (view, other).
120-108 (view, other).
116-112 (view, other).
Considering the one-sided fight, a rematch is almost pointless except for business. It wasn't a competitive enough fight for a rematch, but from Ioka's point of view, it's understandable why he'd want to at least try to avenge his loss. He had never been beaten so badly before in his 15-year career.
However, his games against Joshua Franco in 2022 and 2023 have already shown that Ioka is nearing the end of his career. Ioka looked awful in both fights and was very lucky to escape without two losses.
“A good decision by 'Puma's' team not to let him fight with a case of the flu. We are waiting for the decision on the postponement or the decision that will be made in this regard,” said Salvador Rodriguez on Xreacting to the news that IBF superflyweight champion Fernando Martinez has decided not to go ahead with his rematch against Kazuto Ioka due to illness. “Champion 'Puma' Martinez will not fight Dec. 31 due to flu.”
