-
Steve KimESPN
The Dominican Republic government called off a boxing card scheduled for Saturday night at the Coliseo Carlos “Teo” Cruz in Santo Domingo.
The six-fight event was to have taken place without fans in attendance. Efforts to reach promoters Shuan Boxing were unsuccessful.
Sports Minister Danilo Diaz said Thursday that the card was suspended because it was not in line with the health protocol the Dominican government had implemented related to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a news release, the Dominican government said it had suspended all sporting events until Wednesday, and that the approval of the Sports Ministry was needed to organize any professional sporting event.
There was no immediate word on whether this card — which was to be headlined by a 10-round junior bantamweight bout between Norberto Jimenez (29-9-5, 16 KOs) and Eliezer Aquino (21-4-1, 14 KOs) — will be rescheduled.
The venue had already been fully disinfected, and on fight night everyone who would enter the building would have had their temperatures taken, in addition to wearing masks and surgical gloves.
The WBA, which was overseeing the event’s testing protocol for the coronavirus, announced Wednesday that no one who would be present on Saturday had tested positive.
“A total of 45 quick tests were held for fighters, trainers, corner personnel, judges, referees, round girls, announcer, promoters and all those who will be on the premises on Saturday night,” the WBA announcement said. “This Wednesday night all the fighters and their teams were transported individually to the concentration hotel, after confirming that there is not a single positive case among them.”