By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda
WBA super flyweight champ Kazuto Ioka (31-2-1, 16 KOs), 114.75, displayed his career best performance in finishing Venezuelan Josber Perez (20-4, 18 KOs), 114.75, at 2:44 of the seventh round to keep his WBA belt for the first time on Sunday in Tokyo, Japan.
Having dethroned Joshua Franco after renouncing his WBO belt, Ioka impressively made his first defense by dropping WBA#6 Perez on three occasions. Ioka, 34, remained more aggressive than usual from the outset, and had him absorb much punishment especially at the breadbasket. The fifth witnessed Ioka floor him at first with a body bombardment and again with a solid overhand right. Perez, 28, was saved by the bell. Ioka, in the fatal seventh, again accelerated his attack upstairs and downstairs, and finally scored a beautiful right to send him sprawling to the deck. The referee Jerry Guzman, Puerto Rico, tolled the fatal ten.
Ioka is still willing to face Juan Estrada with both WBC and WBA belts at stake.
Promoter: Shisei Promotions.
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If Juan Francisco decide to face Bam Rodriguez, the winner could face Ioka.
Yep. If Bam actually does come up to 115 and Gallo sticks around, it’ll be a pretty fun division in 2024. They can fight and Ioka could always go and run over Tanaka again for the other title while he waits.
As a new year gift, the WBO title will be handled in a silver tray to Tanaka. Unexplicably, Christian Eduardo Bacasegua, a boxer with a padded record that shouldn’t be in the rankings due to his qualities as a boxer, even worse, higher than Roman Gonzalez (2 and 3), is set to face Tanaka for the belt on February 24, 2024, so I don’t see Tanaka facing Ioka instead of Bacasegua.
Oh I completely agree with you, Burucho. What I was trying to say was that after Tanaka beats the undeserving Bacasegua (and he will), then Ioka could fight and take back his old belt from him.
Ioka has been a great fighter and champ for over a decade now. He’s fought numerous ex champs and title fights. He’s done everything except for fight Choclotito or El Gallo. He deserves one of those before they totally age out.
absolutely. Ioka and Estrada are great fighters close to the end, with little left to do other than face one another. Where is the plan to have them face off – Japan, or America?
They were negotiating for it to be this fight, in Japan, but it fell out. The last I heard Estrada was talking about moving up in weight, but Matchroom was going to make him an offer to fight Bam Rodriguez before he left the division.
Martinez beats all of them