There is a very good chance that Fernando Martinez and Kazuto Ioka will have to head in separate directions for at least their first fight of the new year.

The Ring has confirmed that the WBA has opened an internal investigation surrounding Martinez’s withdrawal from his planned Dec. 31 rematch against Ioka in Tokyo.

Martinez was due to risk his WBA junior bantamweight title in an optional defense. Their fight was canceled just prior to Monday’s official pre-fight weigh-in when Martinez withdrew due to a battle with the flu.

The matter is now under review, though more concerning to both possibilities is the absence of a lucrative payday that would have come with their second act. Martinez’s mandatory title defense is overdue and could be ordered for his first fight of 2025.

Ioka (31-3-1, 16 KOs), The Ring No. 3 junior bantamweight, lost his WBA belt to Argentina’s Martinez (17-0, 9 KOs) in their July 6 unification match at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. Martinez, The Ring No. 2 junior bantamweight, won the WBA title and defended his IBF 115-pound title.

The fight was granted in lieu of Ioka facing interim WBA titlist David Jimenez (16-1, 11 KOs) in a title consolidation bout. The sanctioning body also granted approval for Martinez to face Ioka in a rematch. It was lucrative enough to where he willingly vacated his IBF title in lieu of an ordered mandatory defense against Mexico’s Willibaldo Garcia (22-5-1, 13 KOs).

It is doubtful that a third straight exception will be granted, particularly since Jimenez’s team has already lobbied for the WBA to enforce the Costa Rican's due title shot.

For now, Martinez will both have to return to full health and explain to the sanctioning body why he failed to put his belt on the line for the final scheduled title fight of 2024.