Fans are eagerly counting down the days until Kazuto Yoka takes on Fernando Martinez on New Year's Eve in Tokyo. However, Iokay's Shisei gym said on Monday that the Argentine WBA super flyweight champion had come down with influenza, forcing them to cancel the highly anticipated bout at the last minute.

Martinez had already shown signs of illness when he canceled a public training session last Thursday. He also missed Sunday's signing ceremony, which set off alarm bells that something was seriously wrong. It's a punch to the gut for Ioka, who was hungry for a comeback after Martinez beat him by unanimous decision in July's WBA-IBF unification bout.

Martinez reportedly relinquished his IBF belt, skipping a mandatory title defense to make this rematch happen.