Its Looks like the rematch between Kazuto Ioka vs Joshua Franco has been fixed on June 24 in Tokyo.
Ioka and Franco will play against each other on June 24, Robert Garcia, Franco’s coach, announced on social media Sunday night. The 12-round bout will take place at the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, the hometown of Ioka, Japan.
The first match took place on December 31, with a majority draw result. One referee gave the match a score of 115-113 for Franco, a score that seemed to match what most media and boxing fans believe was the correct score for the match. The clash between Ioka and Franco will pit two of the best boxers in the 115-pound division against each other. Ioka and Franco were ranked 2nd and 3rd by The Ring, respectively.
Kazuto Ioka vs Joshua Franco rematch set for June 24 in Tokyo
The WBA title, which Franco owns, will be the only world title that can be won after Ioka vacated the WBO world youth bantamweight title in February, allegedly due to an attempt to negotiate a deal with Franco. The WBO asked Ioka to defend her world title against Junto Nakatani on January 9, but after a 30-day period to end the match, the sanctioning body asked to make a purse offer.
After Ioka vacated the world championship belt, the WBO ordered Nakatani and Andrew Moloney to compete for the world title, which will take place on May 20 in the Devin Haney undisputed lightweight championship match- Vasiliy Lomachenko in Las Vegas. Prior to the draw with Joshua Franco, Ioka (29-2-1, 15 KOs) defeated Donnie Nietes by unanimous decision on July 22. The victory over Nietes avenged the only loss of his career. That took place in December 2018.
Since the loss to Nietes, the 34-year-old boxer is unbeaten in his last seven fights, including wins against Francisco Rodriguez, Jr., Tanaka and Cintron.
Joshua Franco (18-1-3, 8 KOs), of San Antonio, Texas, was elevated to a WBA world belt holder after Ring Magazine champion Juan Francisco Estrada relinquished his belt in August. last year. Franco holds the secondary title. Franco, 27, is used to rematches. He fought Oscar Negrete three times, winning once and drawing decisive two.
Joshua Franco recently defeated Andrew Moloney via unanimous decision in June 2020. Less than five months later, the two were fighting undecided after an open cut over Franco’s eye, officially due to accidental head impact.
In August 2021, in their third battle, Franco won a unanimous decision against Moloney. Franco is the brother of new WBO flyweight world belt holder Jesse Rodriguez.
