BN Preview: Kazuto Ioka once again promises New Year’s Eve fireworks, this time against Joshua Franco

RARELY does a sport like boxing both reward endurance or save the perfect for final. However, it’s honest to say that any determination made relating to “Fight of the Year” this yr would possibly wish to wait till super-flyweights Joshua Franco and Kazuto Ioka have completed their enterprise on New Year’s Eve.

Those two, arguably two of essentially the most thrilling fighters on the planet, collide on December 31 on the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan, and carnage appears the one choice. Regardless of who ultimately wins the struggle, the simplest factor to foretell proper now, earlier than it has occurred, is that the motion produced can be unmissable and the struggle will, regardless of it coming so late within the yr, muscle its manner onto most year-end lists in terms of the 2022 “Fight of the Year”.

This perception stems from a couple of issues. Firstly, with each fighters in possession of a belt (Franco has the WBA; Ioka has the WBO) there may be a lot at stake and, furthermore, each have been ready for a struggle of this magnitude for some time. Secondly, on account of their types and historical past of entertaining scraps, it’s onerous to image Franco and Ioka assembly within the ring and delivering something apart from a struggle filled with momentum shifts, ferocious exchanges, and drama. In different phrases: fireworks.

For Ioka, specifically, this struggle has been an extended time coming. A belt-holder since 2019, which was the yr he stopped Aston Palicte in 10 rounds to win his present title, Ioka, 29-2 (15), has up to now made 5 profitable defences, all of which have taken place on the similar venue by which he’ll struggle Franco. He defeated the unbeaten Jeyvier Cintron in his first defence, then adopted this with wins against Kosei Tanaka, additionally unbeaten, Francisco Rodriguez Jr and Ryoji Fukunaga. In July, in the meantime, he dominated veteran Filipino Donnie Nietes over 12 rounds, exacting revenge within the course of.

Franco, alternatively, six years Ioka’s junior at 27, has been a belt-holder since 2020. That was the yr he twice fought the Australian Andrew Moloney; outpointing him the primary time earlier than their rematch led to an unsatisfying “No Contest” resulting from Franco’s eye being broken within the second spherical. The pair then fought a 3rd time the next yr, with Franco this time placing any uncertainty to mattress by comfortably profitable a unanimous determination in one other entertaining scrap.

Now, having left Moloney behind, Franco, 18-1-2 (8), prepares to face a brand new identify and a fellow belt-holder. His solely loss thus far as a professional got here all the way in which again in 2018, when stopped inside 9 rounds by Lucas Fernandez, however, very similar to his youthful brother Jesse Rodriguez, the Texan is a maturing fighter who has solely improved with age.

Ioka, too, appears to have now hit a purple patch in his thirties. No stranger to setbacks himself, the Tokyo native misplaced his first title shot at super-flyweight, when falling quick by way of cut up determination against Donnie Nietes in 2018, and 4 years previous to that had misplaced an IBF title struggle against Amnat Ruenroeng, again by cut up determination. He is, due to this fact, each accustomed to disappointment and accustomed to coming again stronger from this disappointment to enhance each his abilities and his fortunes. He did that as a flyweight, a division by which he received and defended the WBA belt 5 occasions, and in addition, extra just lately, as a super-flyweight.

A world champion now in 4 weight lessons (together with minimumweight and light-flyweight), Ioka is definitely the one with expertise on his aspect going into this December 31 conflict with Franco. He will, along with this, have the bonus of combating in entrance of a house crowd – albeit a crowd famously quiet and respectful – in a venue that has grow to be one thing of a cheerful searching floor for him of late.

This, given how well-matched the pair look like, may very well be the factor that in the end makes the distinction on the night time. The struggle will certainly be shut, simply because the motion will certainly be frenetic, and ultimately any edge – be it in expertise or help – might show very important to the end result. It’s for that motive I choose Ioka to prevail on factors in a struggle shut and thrilling sufficient to have those that watch it on New Year’s Eve not solely rethinking their “Fight of the Year” choose however calling for a rematch in 2023.

Elsewhere on the Tokyo card, Japan’s Hayato Tsutsumi, a 23-year-old featherweight prospect who received his professional debut over eight rounds in July, steps up again versus Filipino Pete Apolinar, 16-3 (10), in a bout additionally scheduled for eight. At super-featherweight, in the meantime, there may be an all-Tokyo eight-rounder between southpaw Ryo Nakai, 5-1-1 (2), and the unbeaten Kai Watanabe, 8-0-1 (4), who continues to be solely 20 years of age.