The WBA appears to be back in the mandatory business.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that current junior bantamweight champion Kazuto Ioka has been ordered to defend his title next against number one ranked contender John ‘Scrappy’ Ramirez. The two sides were instructed Friday to enter into negotiations to reach terms within the next 30 days to avoid a bid hearing.
“Please consider this communication as notification for mandatory negotiations for the WBA Super Flyweight division,” WBA Championship Committee Chairman Carlos Chavez informed both parties in an official notice obtained by Boxing Scene. . “From [Ioka] He won the title on June 24, 2023, the next mandatory championship fight is due on October 23, 2023 and he will fight official contender John Ramirez.”
“Pursuant to WBA Rule C.13-Fighting Limitations, the champion may not fight a boxer who is not the official challenger within sixty (60) days following the expiration of the mandatory defense period. Based on the aforementioned facts, we hereby order a mandatory negotiation period of thirty (30) days beginning January 12, [2024] and ending at the end of the business day (-5 GMT) on February 12, [2024].”
Ioka is represented in talks by Shisei Promotions and TLAROCK Entertainment, while Ramirez is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.
Japan’s Ioka (31-2-1, 16KOs), a four-division champion, recently defended his WBA title in a seventh-round knockout of Venezuela’s Josber Perez last New Year’s Eve at the Ota-General Gym. City in Tokyo.
The venue has hosted his last eight fights, all 115-pound title fights, six as WBO champion before he was forced to leave the venue. His last two were in an effort to win the WBA title over Joshua Franco in their June 24 rematch and in the aforementioned title defense against Perez.
The New Year’s Eve headliner, the 12th of his career dating back to 2011 when he launched the year-end boxing tradition, marked his only opportunity to voluntarily defend the title. Ioka had hoped to face linear/WBC champion Juan Francisco Estrada on that date, but their previously productive talks ultimately collapsed due to financial demands.
Ioka, a 34-year-old Osaka native now residing in Tokyo, must now commit to the ordered title fight to avoid being stripped of a second belt at the weight.
Los Angeles’ Ramirez (13-0, 9KOs) became the mandatory challenger after a sensational fourth-round knockout of former title challenger Ronal Batista on October 21 in Inglewood, California. In the home match, the 26-year-old outspoken contender earned his third victory of the year and his first by knockout since last May.
The development now puts Ramirez in line for the first title fight of his career. It also comes at a time when his stablemate, former WBO super middleweight champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez (no relation) is in line to compete for a cruiserweight title in March.
If Ioka and Ramirez’s teams cannot reach an agreement, the WBA will send the matter to an auction hearing. Ioka will have the largest advantage of a 75/25 split in the winning bid as defending champion.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox
