Kazuto Ioka and Daigo Higa end 2023 with knockouts

First things first: Happy New Year! I hope your vacation was great and that your family threw a minimum of projectiles at each other.

Let’s get back to people beating each other up for fun and profit.

As usual, the last notable boxing event of 2023 took place over the weekend in Japan. While profits were relatively slim this year with Naoya Inoue stealing the spotlight on Boxing Day and many of the country’s biggest stars booked for the coming months, fans still got their money’s worth.

In the co-feature, flyweight-turned-bantamweight Daigo Higa (21-2-1, 19 KOs) scored his biggest win in years by stopping Nawaphon Kaikanha (58-4-1, 48 KOs). His power has been a significantly less factor since the JBC forced him to jump two weight classes after losing his title on the scale, but it showed here with a twisting fourth-round body shot that dropped Kaikanha to the check.

Shortly after, WBA super flyweight champion Kazuto Ioka (30-2-1, 16 KOs) predictably dismantled former flyweight title challenger Josber Pérez (20-4, 18 KOs). . Perez, who had this opportunity when Ioka failed to reach an agreement with Juan Francisco Estrada for a long-awaited unification, suffered three knockdowns in the climactic seventh round before going down for the count.