The sports world has been put to a standstill due to the coronavirus outbreak that has seen the NBA, NHL and MLS suspend their seasons and conference tournaments in college basketball being canceled.
You can now add combat sports to the list as the California State Athletic Commission canceled all MMA and boxing events through the month of March.
On Wednesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom recommended that gatherings of over 250 people should be canceled. The most significant combat sports event affected was the March 28 card at The Forum in Inglewood between Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Samuel Vargas. There were no high profile MMA shows on the docket for the month.
“This morning, we were informed by the California State Athletic Commission that all combative sports events have been cancelled for the month of March due to concerns regarding COVID-19,” Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy said in a press release on the cancelations. “Therefore, our March 19 and March 28 events, which were scheduled at Avalon Hollywood and the Forum respectively, have officially been postponed. We will work with state and local officials as well as our venue and broadcast partners to determine the best course of action with respect to these and other upcoming events, both in California and elsewhere.”
“The health and safety of our fighters, fans, employees, officials and partners is of the utmost importance to us, and we thank them for their support and understanding during this time. We will communicate further plans when the time is appropriate.”
Ortiz (15-0, 15 KOs) was looking to inch closer to a world title shot after a banner 2019 saw him win four times with all fights ending inside of the distance. Vargas (31-5-2, 14 KOs) would have been searching for a signature win after coming up short in bouts against Luis Collazo, Amir Khan, Danny Garcia and Errol Spence Jr.
As of Thursday morning, there have been 1,323 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, along with 38 deaths, in the United States. Globally, the total confirmed cases are now over 127,000, with the number of deaths at 4,717.
Notable cases of coronavirus include Utah Jazz stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, actor Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita.