WBO super flyweight champion Kazuto Ioka will fight American WBA champion Joshua Franco in a unification bout in Tokyo, Japan on New Year’s Eve.
Kazuto Ioka (29-2, 15KOs) is a four-weight class champion and current WBO 115-pound champion from Japan. He is eager to unify the division and now has a chance to get closer to his goal of becoming the complete undisputed king of the super flyweights if he can beat rough American champion Joshua Franco.
Franco (18-1-2, 8KOs) is a 27-year-old champion from San Antonio, Texas and he too also has the goal to become undisputed champion.
The Texan is beaming with confidence and wants to prove to the boxing world that he is as courageous as his kid brother Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez who is currently undefeated and has beaten veteran fighters and former champions like Carlos Cuadras and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.
There are some concerns for Franco heading into the biggest match of his career due to his 16-month layoff from the sport. Being away from the ring for over a year could show some signs of ring rust, but Franco insists that he is in tip top condition and showed this at weigh-ins when he made the 115-pound limit with ease on the first try. Ioka struggled to make weight and needed another attempt to finally make the weight limit for the championship bout.
Ioka will be the favorite but the fight is as competitive as they come, it will be a good showdown between two tough lower weight division fighters and a championship bout that could go down as one of the best to end the year 2022.
Fight Card
Kazuto Ioka vs. Joshua Franco
Hayato Tsutsumi vs. Peter Apolinar
Ryo Nakai vs. Kai Watanabe
Ryuto Owan vs. Robin Langres
Satsuki Ito vs. Wassana Kamdee
Taiga Ito vs. Kentaro Miyamoto
Ayato Mochizuki vs. Kazuki Ogiwara
Akira Nakashima vs. Kantaro Nakanishi
How to Watch Kazuto Ioka vs. Joshua Franco Live and Date and Start Time
The Super Flyweight championship unification bout takes place at the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan on New Year’s Eve Saturday, December 31, 2022 at 5:00 AM ET / 2:00 AM PT on TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) Live Stream and TV channel in Japan.
For more information visit: https://www.tbs.co.jp/
