Fernando Martinez’s decision to move forward with a rematch against Kazuto Ioka resulted in the end of his IBF title reign.

His WBA 115-pound belt is now at risk even before he makes it into the ring.

The unbeaten Argentinean opted to not attend Sunday’s final pre-fight press conference, just days after he canceled an open media workout. Word on the ground is that Martinez (17-0, 9 KOs) has opted to place all of his focus on hitting the 115-pound mark for Tuesday’s main event at Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.

Martinez and Japan’s Ioka (31-3-1, 16 KOs) are rated No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, at junior bantamweight by The Ring. The two are due to meet in the final bout of 2024, a rematch to their July 6 WBA/IBF unification bout won by Martinez via unanimous decision.

The win saw Martinez lodge the third successful defense of his IBF title and end Ioka’s WBA title reign.

Martinez was then due to defend against mandatory challenger Willibaldo Garcia (22-5-2, 13 KOs). The far more lucrative rematch with Ioka made it a no-brainer to abandon the IBF belt, and just have the WBA title at stake.

Ioka admitted to not fighting to his fullest capability in the first fight and is confident of revenge on Tuesday. He is already 3-0 (2 KOs) in rematches, having previously avenged a Dec. 2018 loss to Donnie Nietes and a Dec. 2022 draw with Joshua Franco.

It is now Martinez who appears to be at less than full capacity for their highly anticipated sequel. A 100-degree fever was attributed as the cause for his open media workout cancelation. Saturday’s final pre-fight press conference no-show further validated whispers that his WBA reign could end at the scales.

Should Martinez fail to make weight on Monday, the WBA belt would be available only for Ioka—assuming the former four-division titlist weighs at or below 115 pounds.

Fittingly, Ioka captured the WBA junior bantamweight title in similar fashion.

San Antonio’s Franco was miserably over the limit for their June 2023 rematch, won by Ioka via unanimous decision. Ioka previously vacated his WBO belt to move forward with their second act, six months after their WBA/WBO unification bout ended in a majority draw.

Tuesday will mark Ioka’s thirteenth New Year’s Eve headliner, a boxing tradition in Japan which he launched during his first year as a major titleholder in 2011. The future Hall of Famer is 10-1-1 (7 KOs) on the celebratory date.