Unified junior welterweight world titlist Jose Ramirez’s mandatory defense against Viktor Postol, scheduled for Feb. 1 as the main event of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card at Mission Hills Resort Haikou in Haikou, China, has been postponed because of the outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus in China, Top Rank told ESPN on Thursday night.
“ESPN let us know they didn’t want to send their crew over to China given the circumstances, and the health authorities keep closing airports because of this virus,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum told ESPN on Thursday before the announcement to postpone the fight. “Nobody wants to put anybody’s health in jeopardy.”
Haikou is a city on the Chinese island province of Hainan.
Postol and trainer Freddie Roach — who used to train Ramirez — already had arrived in China. Ramirez was issued a 24-hour hold before going. He and his team were scheduled to fly to China from Los Angeles on Thursday night.
“We were told [by Ramirez manager Rick Mirigian] not to go to the airport and they would let us know in 24 hours,” Robert Garcia, Ramirez’s trainer, told ESPN before the postponement announcement. “I really don’t know what will happen. I think more likely than not it will be rescheduled in the United States in the next few weeks, but as of right now they told us just not to take our flight and they will let us know. Because of the virus it might be too risky. We were in the gym this morning, and Jose is ready for the fight.”
Arum had previously said the fight would be rescheduled in the United States if it was postponed.
“We’d have to get a location to have the fight and clear a date with ESPN,” Arum said. “All of those things have to be done. It’s a bummer, but better safe than sorry if that’s what happens.”
Ramirez (25-0, 17 KOs), 27, of Avenal, California, was due to make his fourth title defense since winning a vacant 140-pound belt against Amir Imam in March 2018. Ramirez is coming off his biggest win, a sixth-round knockout of Maurice Hooker on Hooker’s turf in Arlington, Texas, on July 27 to unify two world titles.
Postol (31-2, 12 KOs), 36, of Ukraine, a former world titleholder, outpointed Mohamed Mimoune in Las Vegas on April 27 in a title eliminator to become one of Ramirez’s mandatory challengers.
Information from ESPN’s Dan Rafael was used in this report.