Kazuto Ioka retained his WBO super-flyweight belt with a revenge win over Donnie Nietes in Japan.
Defending his belt for a fifth time, Ioka was considered a significant favourite going into the bout, but a loss to the Filipino back in 2018 ensured that there was still expectation of a close bout beforehand. Ioka demonstrated why he had his backers.
Scores of 120-108, 118-110, and 117-111 tell the true story of Ioka’s dominance and with victory over Nietes, he can now focus his attention on further big fights in the super-flyweight division.
The contest got off to a slow start with both men trying to establish control, but it became clear before the halfway stage that it was Ioka who was the man in charge.
Finishsing strong, Ioka was not willing to leave the fight in any doubt and after pushing his foot down, he set a terrific pace in the fight’s championship rounds that Nietes was unable to match.
Ioka remains one of boxing’s most underrate fighters, and he will surely now target a clash with Roman Gonzalez or Juan Francisco Estrada.