State of Emergency sees 6 shows postponed, investigation going on regarding Kazuto Ioka situation
Earlier today the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) and the Japan Professional Bowling Association (JPBA) held their latest meeting of the new coronavirus countermeasure liaison council and had a number of things to discuss. The most notable of which was what to do after the recent State of Emergency was announced, which effects 4 prefectures in Japan.
Due to the state of emergency we've now seen 7 shows being postponed, including 2 that were set to take place before the end of April.
The first show to be affected is the A-Sign Bee show that was scheduled to take place tomorrow, April 27th. The show has not yet had a new date set for it, sadly, but will be postponed.
The second show is an April 29th show, set to take place at the Kobe Arts Center, which has been postponed to May 30th.
The May 1st Dynamic Glove show, set to be headlined by Japanese Middleweight champion Kazuto Takesako (11-0-1, 11) [竹迫司登] defending his title against mandatory challenger Riku Kunimoto (4-0, 2) [国本陸], has been pushed back to May 19th, as previously reported.
The planned May 5th show at the EDION Arena Osaka, headlined by former world champion Tomoki Kameda (36-3, 20) [亀田和毅] taking on Hironori Miyake (9-10-2, 1) [三宅寛典], has been delayed indefinitely, which is a huge shame as Masato Yamashita had it known he was happy to hold the event with out fans if that was an option.
The May 6th Dynamic Glove, headlined by a unification bout between OPBF Welterweight champion Ryota Toyoshima (13-2-1, 8) [豊嶋亮太] and WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight champion Yuki Beppu (21-1-1, 20) [別府優樹], has been pushed back to May 20th. Like the May 1st show this was already known about and was confirmed over the weekend by Teiken.
The final show to be affected is a May 9th card in Tokyo, at the Tachikawa Tachihi Arena. As with the April 27th and May 5th show, there is now set replacement date for the event.
It should also be noted that a May 9th show in Aichi, under the "Splendid Boxing" banner, may end up being affected, but is currently planned to go ahead as scheduled.
The State of Emergency is to get back on top of the Covid10 pandemic which has seen case numbers in Japan shoot up in recent weeks, and has started to, once again, threaten the Tokyo Olympics which are expected to be held later this year. The current State of Emergency runs to May 11th, but there is a chance it will be extended and could end up affecting shows later into to May if that happens. The current plan is, if an extension is granted, shows will go back to being fan-less events, rather than completely putting boxing on hold again.
Outside of the actual shows the gyms have been told to strengthen their infection controls for fighters who have bouts agreed and that gyms need to follow the guidance of local government.
Away from Covid19 and on to the recent news regarding WBO Super Flyweight champion Kazuto Ioka (26-2, 15) [井岡一翔], and his suspected doping violation. There was a JBC representative at the meeting today who stated "We have not confirmed the facts." suggesting the investigation is still on going, and the JPBA secretary general Shosei Nitta made it clear that he would await the completion of the JBC's investigation.
Due to the state of emergency we've now seen 7 shows being postponed, including 2 that were set to take place before the end of April.
The first show to be affected is the A-Sign Bee show that was scheduled to take place tomorrow, April 27th. The show has not yet had a new date set for it, sadly, but will be postponed.
The second show is an April 29th show, set to take place at the Kobe Arts Center, which has been postponed to May 30th.
The May 1st Dynamic Glove show, set to be headlined by Japanese Middleweight champion Kazuto Takesako (11-0-1, 11) [竹迫司登] defending his title against mandatory challenger Riku Kunimoto (4-0, 2) [国本陸], has been pushed back to May 19th, as previously reported.
The planned May 5th show at the EDION Arena Osaka, headlined by former world champion Tomoki Kameda (36-3, 20) [亀田和毅] taking on Hironori Miyake (9-10-2, 1) [三宅寛典], has been delayed indefinitely, which is a huge shame as Masato Yamashita had it known he was happy to hold the event with out fans if that was an option.
The May 6th Dynamic Glove, headlined by a unification bout between OPBF Welterweight champion Ryota Toyoshima (13-2-1, 8) [豊嶋亮太] and WBO Asia Pacific Welterweight champion Yuki Beppu (21-1-1, 20) [別府優樹], has been pushed back to May 20th. Like the May 1st show this was already known about and was confirmed over the weekend by Teiken.
The final show to be affected is a May 9th card in Tokyo, at the Tachikawa Tachihi Arena. As with the April 27th and May 5th show, there is now set replacement date for the event.
It should also be noted that a May 9th show in Aichi, under the "Splendid Boxing" banner, may end up being affected, but is currently planned to go ahead as scheduled.
The State of Emergency is to get back on top of the Covid10 pandemic which has seen case numbers in Japan shoot up in recent weeks, and has started to, once again, threaten the Tokyo Olympics which are expected to be held later this year. The current State of Emergency runs to May 11th, but there is a chance it will be extended and could end up affecting shows later into to May if that happens. The current plan is, if an extension is granted, shows will go back to being fan-less events, rather than completely putting boxing on hold again.
Outside of the actual shows the gyms have been told to strengthen their infection controls for fighters who have bouts agreed and that gyms need to follow the guidance of local government.
Away from Covid19 and on to the recent news regarding WBO Super Flyweight champion Kazuto Ioka (26-2, 15) [井岡一翔], and his suspected doping violation. There was a JBC representative at the meeting today who stated "We have not confirmed the facts." suggesting the investigation is still on going, and the JPBA secretary general Shosei Nitta made it clear that he would await the completion of the JBC's investigation.