Kazuto Ioka won the WBA super flyweight title, as he dominated Joshua Franco in a wide points win in Ota City General Gymnasium, Japan.
The belt was on the line for Ioka (30-2-1, 15 KOs) only in this one, as Franco (18-2-3, 8 KOs) lost his title on the scales, weighing in a whopping 6.7 pounds overweight at the weigh in. The pair met originally in December last year, where they fought to a draw, meaning Ioka kept his WBO crown that he vacated to take the sequel.
The Japan native started well, momentarily staggering the visitor in the second round, and it was good back-and-forth action, with both having success, just like they did in their first clash.
It appeared the extra weight was hindering Franco though, with his punches not carrying the same snap as the 34-year-old’s, and Franco’s face was showing signs of damage by halfway.
Ioka was ripping in body shots in the seventh, and the Texan was bleeding from his right eye by the end of the ninth as the writing was increasingly on the wall for the 27-year-old.
Down the stretch, the four-weight world champion was just as dominant, and as the fight went to the cards, the result was in little doubt.
Two scores of 116-112, and a third at 115-113 in Ioka’s favour were closer than the fight itself was.
Franco announced his retirement from boxing shortly after the fight at 27-years-old.
Higa blasts out Freshmart
The hard-hitting Daigo Higa headed the undercard, and he didn’t disappoint, scoring four knockdowns on the way to a fourth round knockout at bantamweight against Yodmongkol CP Freshmart.
Freshmart (65-5, 43 KOs) was dropped twice in the second, and a wicked body shot put him over again a round later.
The contest was over in the fourth, with Higa (20-2-1, 18 KOs) edging towards a world title shot.
Mori outscores Watanabe in rematch
The rematch at super featherweight went the way of Musashi Mori (14-1-1, 7 KOs), as he claimed the vacant OPBF title with a points win against Takuya Watanabe (39-12-2, 22 KOs).
The two fought to a 114-114 draw across the board last year, but Mori floored Watanabe in the final round, and took the win by three scores of 117-110.
Remaining Undercard
Kantaro Juri (5-0-1, 2 KOs) stayed unbeaten, taking a points win over eight at super flyweight against Wilbert Berondo (16-7-2, 6 KOs), and Shinnosuke Kimoto (7-6, 3 KOs) knocked out Prathip Chinram (3-4, 1 KO) in the second of a scheduled eight at super bantamweight.
In the sole four rounder, Taiga Tamegai (1-1-1) upset debutant Fumiaki Iwasaki (1-1, 1 KOs), taking a 40-35 verdict on all three scorecards, also at super bantamweight.
