Jeyvier Cintron traveled early this morning to Japan to challenge Kazuto Ioka for the 115-pound WBO belt on December 31 at the Ota-City General Gymnasyum in Tokyo, Japan.

Cintrón (11-0, 5 kos), the first Puerto Rican boxer to participate in two Olympic Games (2012 and 2016), went along with his trainer Iván “Iron Boy” Calderón, also trainer Alfonso “Ury” Ramos, his father and former boxer Javier “Perrito” Cintrón, and Peter Rivera, Vice-President of PR Best Boxing Promotions.

The WBO #1 challenger at 115 pounds will face Ioka (24-2, 14 kos), who has been world champion in four divisions (105, 108, 112 and 115 pounds) and won the WBO belt at 115 pounds when he beat Aston Palicte by TKO in June for the vacant title.

For the Ioka-Cintron meeting, the officials have already been assigned. The referee will be the American Tony Weeks and the judges Wes Melton (United States), Phil Austin (Australia) and Julio César Alvarado (Panama). The WBO supervisor will be León Panoncillo Jr.