Ill Figueroa won't fight Kameda after failing to make weight

LOS ANGELES, United States — Japan's Tomoki Kameda will not have the chance to fight for the vacant World Boxing Association featherweight title on Saturday (Sunday, Manila time) after former champion Brandon Figueroa became ill overnight, organizers said.

The fight scheduled for Las Vegas was called off on Saturday, hours after Figueroa lost his crown on the scales Friday by failing to make weight.

Figueroa, a 29-year-old American, missed the 126-pound (57.1kg) weight limit to surrender the title he took from Britain's Nick Ball last February without ever defending it.

The fight was still set to be contested, with Kameda able to take the crown with a victory and the title remaining vacant otherwise.

But Figueroa, who rehydrated after the weigh-in, became ill overnight and the bout was called off.

That stripped 35-year-old Kameda, who has not fought since May 2025, from any chance at the crown after the Japanese veteran called Figueroa's failure to make weight "disrespectful" through a translator.

Figueroa, a former super bantamweight world champion, has a record of 27-2 with one drawn and 20 knockouts while Kameda is 42-5 with 23 knockouts.