The WBO junior lightweight title bout between Jamel Herring and Jonathan Oquendo has been postponed for a second time, as Herring has confirmed to ESPN that he has tested positive for the coronavirus again.
This fight was originally scheduled for July 2, but was initially postponed when Herring was pulled from the card for a positive test. While in Omaha prior to coming to Las Vegas for the July 14 fight, Herring tested negative for COVID-19, and thus entered "the bubble" at the MGM Grand Conference Center on Sunday night. Herring said he went through his testing at around 9:30 pm on Sunday, and received news of the positive test Monday morning.
These test are 30% faulty... Here's clearly my timeline of when I contracted the virus, til the time I came back negative. I even woke up today on weight, ready to go, and even took an antibody test this morning to prove I'm fine, but the commission didn't want to risk it. https://t.co/7Mv3ex0jbo pic.twitter.com/pItpOwq0rA
— Jamel Herring (@JamelHerring) July 13, 2020
"I feel great, I had the best [weight] cut ever. I was actually on weight days ago," Herring told ESPN said on Monday afternoon.
For Herring (21-2, 10 KOs), who had won his world title last May by defeating Masayuki Ito, Tuesday's fight was supposed to be his second title defense, setting the stage for a fall showdown with two-division champion Carl Frampton.
"I'm actually more bummed out about this for my team because we put in so much work," Herring said. "We even had the extra weeks for the fight after the original date. The main thing is I took time away from my family. But I'm more upset for the people around me. But I feel great."
Herring said he will now return home to Cincinnati and wait for the bout to be rescheduled once again.
In light of the Herring-Oquendo fight being postponed a second time, Top Rank is adjusting its approach to rescheduling bouts in which a fighter has previously tested positive for COVID-19.
"After talking to doctors and infectious disease specialists, our new guideline will not be to reschedule for sooner than six weeks after a positive test," said a source from Top Rank.