Martinez runs into visa issues ahead of Ioka bout
On July 7th we’ll see a mouth watering clash at Super Flyweight, as WBA "super" champion Kazuto Ioka (31-2-1, 16) [井岡一翔] and IBF champion Fernando Daniel Martinez (16-0, 9) face off in a brilliant unification bout at the Ryogoku Kokugikan.
Over the weekend it was revealed that Martinez’s preparations have been affected by PBC and a visa situation which has certainly been a frustrating event for him, and will not help him with less than 3 weeks to go to the fight.
Carlos Irusta, reporting for ESPN Deportes, has reported that Martinez has had a visa issue, which has resulted in him needing to change his travel plans for the fight in Japan.
The plan had long been for Martinez to prepare for the bout in Las Vegas, training there from early June to a planned travel date of June 23rd, when he was supposed to travel to Tokyo for the bout. The plan of using Las Vegas for training was to help adapt to the time difference in Japan and also get top sparring. On June 21st the plans changed, with it being revealed that PBC (Premier Boxing Champions), who have been working with Martinez, failed to correctly sort out the visa for Martinez, and had also managed to screw up his original travel to the US.
The original travel from Argentina to Las Vega, in early Junes had been a lengthy journey, thanks to a stop over in Houston, resulting in Martinez arriving at midnight and nothing being prepared for him.
Whilst that was an issue, it was a minor one compared to the Visa issue. The problem with the visa is that someone needs to be in the country of birth to apply for a Japanese visa, something those at PBC don’t seem to have realised, before getting Martinez into the US. As a result Martinez has had to fly from the US back to Argentina to apply for a visa in the Japanese embassy in Argentina. This was despite Martinez’s team being assured by those at PBC that the application could be done in the US, and that it was going well.
As a result Martinez’ application for a Visa only began today, less than 3 weeks before the fight, and a day after he was expected to travel to Japan.
For those wanting to read the original report of this situation, it’s available here in Spanish with quotes from Martinez's coach Rodrigo Calabrese, who appears to be hugely frustrated at the whole situation.
Over the weekend it was revealed that Martinez’s preparations have been affected by PBC and a visa situation which has certainly been a frustrating event for him, and will not help him with less than 3 weeks to go to the fight.
Carlos Irusta, reporting for ESPN Deportes, has reported that Martinez has had a visa issue, which has resulted in him needing to change his travel plans for the fight in Japan.
The plan had long been for Martinez to prepare for the bout in Las Vegas, training there from early June to a planned travel date of June 23rd, when he was supposed to travel to Tokyo for the bout. The plan of using Las Vegas for training was to help adapt to the time difference in Japan and also get top sparring. On June 21st the plans changed, with it being revealed that PBC (Premier Boxing Champions), who have been working with Martinez, failed to correctly sort out the visa for Martinez, and had also managed to screw up his original travel to the US.
The original travel from Argentina to Las Vega, in early Junes had been a lengthy journey, thanks to a stop over in Houston, resulting in Martinez arriving at midnight and nothing being prepared for him.
Whilst that was an issue, it was a minor one compared to the Visa issue. The problem with the visa is that someone needs to be in the country of birth to apply for a Japanese visa, something those at PBC don’t seem to have realised, before getting Martinez into the US. As a result Martinez has had to fly from the US back to Argentina to apply for a visa in the Japanese embassy in Argentina. This was despite Martinez’s team being assured by those at PBC that the application could be done in the US, and that it was going well.
As a result Martinez’ application for a Visa only began today, less than 3 weeks before the fight, and a day after he was expected to travel to Japan.
For those wanting to read the original report of this situation, it’s available here in Spanish with quotes from Martinez's coach Rodrigo Calabrese, who appears to be hugely frustrated at the whole situation.