Flyweight titleholder Julio Cesar Martinez has pulled out of his title defense match against McWilliams Arroyo due to a throat infection. Cesar was meant to fight his opponent on August 15 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but he has not been able to train this past week due to his illness, forcing him to pull out.

The fight was supposed to headline a show promoted by Matchroom Boxing USA. The fight would have been the organiser’s first fight in the US due to the pandemic. Cesar’s team has since confirmed that his illness is not in any way related to the coronavirus.

The World Boxing Council was the first to break the news, which was later confirmed by Arroyo after hearing it from his promoter. Cesar has a fighting record of 16-0, 12 KOs, while Arroyo has 20-4, 15 KOs. Cesar’s impressive stats was gained in just five years, having begun his at age 20 in 2015.

He won the Flyweight title in December 2019 after defeating former holder, Cristofer Rosales in a 9th-round stoppage. He then made one successful title defense back in February against Jay Harris, and his fight with Arroyo is supposed to be his second title defense.

Arroyo, who is an Olympian, has not had much luck when it comes to vying for the Flyweight title, having gone for it in 2014 and 2016, respectively, without much luck. Cesar expressed his eagerness to fight when he initially announced the fixture, stating that he was preparing for unification matches in 2020 and 2021.

His promoter, Eddie Hearn, had been urging him to go for unification to make him a superstar to give him the superstar status, and Cesar is looking forward to it. Hearn also confirmed that the fight would now happen at a later date but failed to say when, although there are speculations that it could hold in September.

Written by: Leon Osamor