Four-division world champion Kazuto Ioka had long sought a junior bantamweight unification, thinking he could do it with a fight against then-Ring champion and WBC titleholder Juan Francisco Estrada behind schedule last year, but that all fell apart during negotiations.
However, Ioka, ranked No. 2 in the junior bantamweight division by The Ring, and his team were able to negotiate a deal with undefeated IBF world champion Fernando Martinez, the two of whom will face off Sunday at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
“I’m cheerful to have the unification fight,” Ioka (32-2-1, 16 knockouts) told The Ring via Yusuke Ninomiya. “I think it’s a challenge to move on, and fighting the IBF champion is a gigantic challenge. I’ve never won the IBF title before, so I want to win it!”
He failed to secure the aforementioned fight with Estrada, who ultimately opted to fight rising star Jesse Rodriguez last weekend. Ioka had that in mind.
“Because of the nature of the program, the negotiations didn’t go well and the event didn’t happen at the end of last year,” he said, without elaborating. Estrada’s financial demands are believed to have been too much trouble.
“I want to fight the winner of Estrada vs. Jesse Rodriguez,” he said.
As usual, Ioka headed to Las Vegas for four weeks to train under the watchful eye of longtime trainer Ismael Salas, where he also sparred with former world title challenger Angelino Cordova (18-1-1, 12 KOs), who was chosen to emulate his fellow South American’s aggressive fighting style.
The 35-year-old, who will be fighting for a 26th world title, remains as motivated as ever since he turned professional 15 years ago.
Since then he has won the WBA and WBC strawweight titles before moving up to junior flyweight and then flyweight, where he annexed the WBA belts. At junior bantamweight he won the WBO and WBA titles, although he had to relinquish the WBA title to face Joshua Franco in a rematch after initially being held to a draw rather than face the mandatory. That’s how badly he wanted to face Joshua again.
“I’ve come this far, but I’m not cheerful with where I am now, I want to see how far I can go and prove it,” he explained. “I want to encourage the people who are watching me. Of course, I will fight for my family and the people who support me.”
This looks like an intriguing style matchup, Ioka’s skill versus Martinez’s relentless aggression. However, I think Ioka having home court advantage and being more lively tips the scales in his favor.
It should be noted that Martinez has fought five of his last six fights outside of Argentina and has won, although this is a fight he hasn’t fought in over a year. My prediction is that Ioka uses his impressive skill and movement to constantly force Martinez into changing directions and wins a hard-fought but unanimous decision in just 12 rounds.
Martinez (16-0, 9 KOs), ranked No. 3 by The Ring as a junior bantamweight, was a standout amateur and represented his home country of Argentina around the world, appearing in the World Series of Boxing and at the 2016 Olympics before turning pro in 2017.
“Pumita” won his first nine fights, all in Argentina, before traveling to South Africa to stop Athenkosi Dumezweni (TKO 11). The 32-year-old was largely unknown until he defeated Jerwin Ancajas (UD 12) to win the IBF title and repeated the feat in his first defense. He then scored a behind schedule knockout over fellow Filipino Jade Bornea (TKO 11).
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