World title bout cancelled due to Covid

[Boxing Prospect]

https://www.asianboxing.info/asian-news ... cancelled!

Earlier today Ring Magazine and WBA Light Flyweight "Super" champion Hiroto Kyoguchi (14-0, 9) [京口 紘人] and unbeaten Thai Thanongsak Simsri (14-0, 12) took part in their weigh in ahead of their scheduled world title fight, which was to take place in Osaka tomorrow.

The two men managed to make weight with absolutely no issues at all.

On the scales Kyoguchi was 107.8lbs and Simsri was 107.6lbs. Both very, very comfortably under the 108lbs limit. Both men had also attended their signing ceremony, essentially the last joint event before their bout.

At the signing ceremony both spoke confidently of winning. Kyoguchi spoke about having an exciting fight, that he was hoping would be seen by a lot of fans. Simsri stated he would definitely win, and thanks those who had supported him.

They also picked their gloves, with Kyoguchi picking orange and Simsri going with black, and both selecting Winnings.

Then we got the news no one was wanting, and no one was expecting, with officials from Japan holding an emergency press conference at 4PM local time to announce it.

The news was that ​Kyoguchi and his trainer had both had their PCR tests, taken today, come back positive, forcing tomorrow's world title bout, which was set to be the first male world title bout in Japan since boxing restarted there, to be cancelled.

Both men are said to be asymptomatic, but obviously the bout has been stopped and tracing has began of who the two men have been in contact with.

In the last few minutes we have been informed that the whole show has now been scrapped due to this news, which will be a double whammy for all the fighters scheduled to compete on the under-card.

It's not yet totally clear where the line of transmission began and this is under investigation.

Although Kyoguchi isn't the first fighter to get a positive PCR test and be named in Japan, he is the first to fail a test the day before a fight in such a high profile contest.

To many this was seen as the re-opening of Japanese boxing to the world. It was the first time we had seen an international fighter in Japan since the start of these on going situation, and Siumsri had had to self isolate for 2 weeks in Japan, arriving in Japan on October 7th and not leaving his condo room in Osaka until the 21st.

The closest we've had to this in regards to Japan was when Jorge Linares also got a positive test come back several months ago, cancelling his scheduled bout with Javier Fortuna in the US, with his test happening in Japan. That test caused the Teiken Gym to close and pushed back a Japanese show, forced several bouts to cancel and ended up cancelling the US card he was scheduled for.

After the news broke Kyoguchi did publicly say sorry, and we can't imagine how he's feeling right now after this news. As for Simsri he was said to have been weeping after the news broke to him, that his world title fight had been cancelled at the 11th hour. An understandable reaction for the 20 year old.

We are hoping, although it is likely against all hope, that the bout will be rescheduled for the near future, though at the moment that's not something being mentioned by anyone in the Japanese press.

Was has intensified this news is that this was supposed to be a model event and a reference for the Tokyo Olympics, with Simsri, an international competitors, needing to isolate for 2 weeks, and with a crowd of 2,000 allowed. Today's news is certainly a hit to those expecting a smooth Olympics next year.

[Ruthless-RKO]

WBA champion Hiroto Kyoguchi tests positive for coronavirus at weigh-in

The first world championship bout in Japan since the coronavirus was cancelled the day before the show. WBA light flyweight super champion Hiroto Kyoguchi (14-0) and one of his cornermen tested positive for the coronavirus, and officials decided to cancel the entire card. Kyoguchi was scheduled to defend against Thailand's Thanongsak Simsri (14-0) and the two 108 pounders weighed in, both of them on weight. The bout was set to take place in Osaka. Both men are reportedly asymptomatic.

[margaret thatcher]

that sux