Japanese veteran Kazuto Ioka will challenge an old rival, for his old belt, when he takes on Argentina’s WBA junior bantamweight titlist Fernando Martinez on December 31. The 12-round rematch is set for the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, five months after Martinez, then IBF boss, outpointed Ioka via unanimous decision in a unification tussle in the same city’s Ryogoku Kokugikan.
The 33-year-old Martinez, 17-0 (9 KOs), has since relinquished the IBF title to pursue this return with Ioka, 31-3-1 (16 KOs).
The fight will mark the ninth time that Ioka, 35, has fought in the Ota City General Gymnasium. He is yet to experience a loss there.
However, this is a difficult assignment for Ioka; one judge gave Martinez every round (120-108) back in July. The other scores were 117-111 and 116-112.
“I felt endless frustration after that loss,” Ioka said today regarding the first fight with Martinez. “I’m definitely going to make amends and prove I can get back on top.”
Ioka, who in 2019 became the first Japanese boxer to win belts in four different weight classes, accepts that this is a must-win contest, particularly at this stage of his career.
“I won’t necessarily retire if I lose, but this isn’t a world where you can keep thinking there will always be another chance,” Ioka admitted.
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