Brandon Figueroa vs. Tomoki Kameda fight off due to illness
A clash between Brandon Figueroa (27-2-1, 20 KOs) and Tomoki Kameda (42-5, 23 KOs) will no longer take place after the former reportedly fell ill overnight.
Their bout was to take place on the undercard of Sebastian Fundora vs. Ermal Hadribeaj in the Chelsea Ballroom at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, NV. Fight fans in the United States can still watch the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) event on TNT and DAZN. The rest of the world will be able to do so with DAZN.
A press release confirmed Figueroa’s illness on Saturday. Due to the fight’s cancellation, a middleweight bout between Jaime Osuna (11-0, 5 KOs) and Cristian Cangelosi (13-0-1, 5 KOs) will now open the card.
The saga of Brandon Figueroa vs. Tomoki Kameda
Figueroa was initially set to defend his WBA featherweight world title against Kameda. The American had won the belt earlier this year against Nick Ball. This would have been his first defence of the title.
At the weigh-in, however, Figueroa reportedly came in at 127.4 lbs. He was given an hour to lose the excess weight. Figueroa reportedly returned more than an hour later, but could only get his weight down to 126.8 lbs. As a result, he lost his WBA world title on the scales.
The fight was still scheduled to take place with Kameda being the only one who could win the world title. It would have remained vacant in the event of a draw, no contest, or Figueroa victory. These scenarios are irrelevant now with the American’s withdrawal from the contest.
What happens to the WBA featherweight world title?
The WBA have yet to announce what becomes of their featherweight world title. Although Kameda was set to challenge for it against Figueroa, he is only third in their rankings. Mirco Cuello and Mikito Nakano are ranked first and second, respectively.
Whether Kameda fights either of those two for the now vacant world title or some other arrangement is made remains to be seen. Boxing fans can expect more clarity regarding the WBA belt in the coming weeks.
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Sebastian Fundora vs. Ermal Hadribeaj: Prediction and fight card for October 17
Nick Ball vs. Brandon Figueroa live results update
Daniel Dubois vs. Fabio Wardley 2 live results update
Featured image credit
Esther Lin – PBC
S Saadeq Ahmed
Currently writing out of Toronto, Canada, Saadeq first became a boxing fan while living in Doha, Qatar. Looking to become more involved in the sport, he began writing about boxing and has had work published in outlets such as Seconds Out and Boxing Social. He looks forward to continue covering boxing on Big Fight Weekend.