Oct 17 (Reuters) – Brandon Figueroa withdrew from his fight against Tomoki Kameda on Saturday, a day after he was stripped of his WBA featherweight title for failing to make weight.
On Friday, Figueroa lost his title after hitting the scales at 1.4 pounds over the 126-pound weight limit.
The fight had been set to proceed with Kameda eligible to clinch the belt if he won in Las Vegas and the title remaining vacant if Figueroa won, but the American boxer withdrew on the day of the bout.
“The previously scheduled Brandon Figueroa vs Tomoki Kameda bout is now off after Figueroa fell ill overnight,” Figueroa’s promoters and event organisers Premier Boxing Champions said in a statement.
Japan’s Kameda voiced his frustration in a post on social media.
“I trained hard in Mexico for about two and a half months, starting in late July, and I was ready to step into the ring in the best possible condition,” the 35-year-old wrote.
“However, this is not the end. I have agreed with the promoter and the WBA that I will be given priority for the next WBA featherweight championship decider.
“I will firmly switch my mindset, and I will start from the beginning and train again for what comes next. I will definitely win the world champion’s belt.”
In the main event on Saturday, Sebastian Fundora stopped Ermal Hadribeaj in the 12th round to defend his WBC super welterweight title.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
