Kazuto Ioka was hoping for a higher profile matchup for his year-end tradition.
While not overlooking the fight in front of him, the current four-division WBA junior bantamweight champion is aware that the pressure is on to fend off challenger Josber Perez in spectacular fashion. The two will meet in a title fight scheduled for twelve rounds on an ABEMA TV broadcast this Sunday from the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.
“As defending champion, I have to show that I am at a different level and win by a landslide,” Ioka admitted about defending his title.
Sportsbook bet365 lists Ioka (30-2-1, 15KOs) as a -1800 favorite to prevail in the 12th New Year’s Eve main card of his career. He is 9-1-1 over the holidays, the last five having been held in Ota-City, where he is fighting for the eighth consecutive time overall.
The date was originally reserved for a delicious unification fight against lineal/WBC champion Juan Francisco Estrada (44-3, 28KOs). The two sides were believed to have been in advanced talks before they completely parted ways and ultimately died at the negotiating table.
Estrada will now spend all of 2023 without fighting, while Ioka was forced to settle for a voluntary title defense. He was able to secure a date as the current WBO champion with then-WBA champion Joshua Franco this past New Year’s Eve. The two fought to a draw in twelve rounds in a tremendous action fight, although it came at a cost.
Ioka was ordered to defend his WBO belt against compatriot and mandatory challenger Junto Nakatani. Instead, he opted to pursue the more lucrative rematch against Franco, although it is no longer a unification fight, as he was forced to relinquish the WBO title he had held since June 2019 and made six successful defenses. Ioka outlasted Franco over twelve rounds in their June 24 rematch to win the WBA title, which he defends on Sunday.
Venezuela’s Perez (20-3, 18KOs) enters as a +850 underdog for the second title fight of his career. The 28-year-old from Los Teques lost a twelve-round unanimous decision to undefeated WBA flyweight champion Artem Dalakian in their February 2020 meeting in kyiv, Ukraine. Three knockout victories followed, all in 2023 against unmatched opponents.
The fight is considered lopsided enough on paper that public attention has already shifted to a potential Estrada-Ioka championship clash in 2024, or even a date against IBF champion Fernando ‘Puma’ Martínez ( 16-0, 9KOs).
Instead, Ioka has to focus on the task at hand, facing the opponent who agreed to face him this weekend.
“I have a fight that I want to make happen, but first I need to win it,” said Ioka, who won titles at 105, 108 and 112 pounds. “Needless to say, I have to keep my title.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox
