Tokyo: Japan's WBA light-flyweight super champion Hiroto Kyoguchi has tested positive for Covid-19, his gym announced yesterday, forcing organisers to scrap his title defence against Thailand's Thanongsak Simsri.
Kyoguchi, 26, who had been due to face Thanongsak in Osaka today, tweeted simply "I'm really sorry" without giving any further details.
"We learned today that Kyoguchi and his trainer tested positive for the coronavirus," a staff member at Kyoguchi's gym told AFP.
"The title match scheduled for tomorrow is cancelled," she said, adding it might be rearranged for a later date.
The abrupt announcement came just hours after the two boxers passed their weigh-ins.
Both Kyoguchi and Thanongsak, 20, are currently 14-0 as professionals.
Kyoguchi had been due to defend his title in May, but the bout was postponed because of the pandemic.
The Thai boxer had been self-quarantining in Japan ahead of the bout at an Osaka arena where organisers planned to halve the number of spectators to around 2,000 as part of anti-infection measures.
It would have been the first men's world title match held in Japan since the pandemic began.
Japan is making a tentative return to hosting events with international athletes as it navigates difficult questions over how it can stage next year's virus-postponed Olympics.
Questions arose over a gymnastics event featuring China, Russia, the US and Japan when the International Gymnastics Federation said Kohei Uchimura, the two-time men's all-around Olympic champion, had tested positive. But the test was later revealed to be a false positive, with Uchimura testing negative and now scheduled to take part in the competition this weekend in Tokyo. afp