Joshua Franco and Kazuto Ioka battle to a majority draw
The final title fight of the year in 2022 failed to produce an outright winner as WBO World super-flyweight champion Kazuto Ioka (29-2-1, 15KO) and WBA beltholder Joshua Franco (18-1-3, 8KO) battled to a majority draw at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.
Two scorecards were matching at 114-114 but Franco managed to win by a score of 115-113 on judge Stanley Christodoulou's card.
Ioka was fighting at the venue for his sixth consecutive time and although the home advantage didn't get him the win, he did manage to keep his WBO World super-flyweight belt.
Despite being out the ring for over 16 months, Franco started brightly, establishing his jab. Both boxers traded left hooks midway through the round, with the Texan getting the better of the action, landing the cleaner, more eyecatching combinations. Ioka looked for an opening for his right hand, which was often picked off and met with left hook, straight right combos by Franco towards the end of the round.
33-year-old Ioka settled into a rhythm early in round two but found difficulties with visiting fighter Franco’s superior hand speed. Local fighter Ioka lives and trains in Tokyo. He landed a left hook downstairs and right hand up top, which Franco took well but was short with a combination in the closing seconds as Ioka showed a fine defense to avoid.
Franco repeatedly drove Ioka back to the ropes with higher volume combination punching. Ioka had his moments with power punches which caught the attention of the American.
Ioka landed a long right hand over the top of Franco’s guard in the fourth but it wasn’t enough to keep the 27-year-old at bay, then there was brief time-out when Franco’s mouthpiece was dislodged.
Ioka was forced to utilise his superior defensive skills in round five. Franco managed to drive Ioka into a corner but was met with a straight right and a left hook to the chin.
Momentum remained with Ioka in the sixth stanza. The four-weight titlist found repeated success with his left hook to the body. Franco absorbed the body blows well but was consistently beaten to the punch all through the round.
Franco came flying off his stool for the second half of the fight, ripping a right hand and left hook which forced Ioka backwards. Franco popped out his jab as Ioka was forced to fight off the ropes. A left hook by Franco visibly affected Ioka, who tightened up his guard whie Franco walked him down.
The Texan continued to dominate in round eight. The action was fierce along the ropes when Ioka found room to let his hands go, producing two-way exchanges to the delight of the crowd.
Ioka bounced back in the ninth round. Franco’s longer reach served as a deterrent in the round, overextending as Ioka slipped punches and countered with a left hook to the body and uppercut.
Both boxers targeted the body during the 10th. Ioka fired off consecutive uppercuts which Franco absorbed and responded back. Franco’s career-long trainer Robert Garcia was overheard at ringside insisting that Ioka was tired, though the four-division champ in fact appeared to have found a second wind as he landed the more telling blows.
But then Franco had Ioka in trouble at the end of round 11, coming after both fighters struggled to get the lead over the other. The Texan charged forward to land a right hand. Ioka responded quick enough for both to simultaneously land left hooks. Franco connected to the body and then to the chin in the final seconds, forcing Ioka to the ropes and into a defensive shell.
Ioka used his movement in an attempt to slow down Franco’s attack in the 12th and final round. He found just enough space to reel off a flurry, most of which missed the mark but were effective enough to prevent a response from Franco in the moment. Franco forced the action back towards center as he saw the finish line in sight in search of a career-best win that seemed to be well within his reach.
Two of the three judges didn't quite see it that way, as another draw gets added to Franco's hard-luck record. He retained the full version of the WBA junior bantamweight title for the first time since being upgraded from secondary titlist.
History-making Ioka was denied a bid to become the first-ever Japanese fighter to unify titles in two separate weight divisions. Ioka is Japan’s only ever boxer to win titles in four weight divisions. This was his 11th time fighting on New Years Eve.
