Ramirez-Postol postponed due to coronavirus, at least 41 people dead

Unified junior welterweight world titleholder Jose Ramirez's mandatory defense against Viktor Postol has been canceled.

The bout, which was set to take place Feb. 1 in on a Top Rank on ESPN card at Mission Hills Haikou Resort in Haikou, China, was called off on Thursday evening as a result of the outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus in China.

Wuhan is the capital of the Hubei province in China. According to authorities, the death toll has risen to 41. Furthermore, France’s health minister has also confirmed cases of the coronavirus in their nation.

Postol and Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach — who previously trained Ramirez — had already arrived in China.

Ramirez and his team were supposed to fly from Los Angeles to China Thursday evening.

The bout will likely be rescheduled in the United States.

Ramirez (25-0, 17 KO’s), 27, of Avenal, California, has defended his 140-pound world title belt three times since beating Amir Imam for the then-vacant strap in March 2018. Ramirez is coming off his biggest win, a sixth-round knockout of Maurice Hooker in Hooker’s backyard in Arlington, Texas, on July 27 to unify two world titles.

Postol (31-2, 12 KO’s), 36, of Ukraine, a former world titlist, outpointed Mohamed Mimoune in Las Vegas on April 27 in a world title eliminator to earn a spot as one of Ramirez's mandatory challengers.