Kazuto Ioka beats Joshua Franco at second time of asking but does not deliver promised knockout
- Planet Sport writer
- 25 June 2023
Kazuto Ioka managed to beat Joshua Franco convincingly with a unanimous points decision to claim the WBA junior bantamweight title but was disappointed that he was not able to knock Franco out.
It was the second time the fighters had gone at it in the last six months, with the previous fight ending as a majority draw after a mammoth 12-round epic.
While the original fight was a unification bout for the WBA/WBO titles, in the rematch only Franco's belt was up for grabs as the American weighed in more than six pounds over the junior bantamweight divisional limit.
Ioka burst out of the blocks and stunned Franco with a sharp right in the second round. He worked the body and kept Franco on the back foot for most of the fight.
The American did his best to remain active but he struggled to land solid punches all night.
Franco was able to fight back and create a more even contest in the middle rounds but Ioka recovered to finish the stronger of the two fighters.
Ultimately, the fight was scored 115-113, 116-112 and 116-112 all in favour of the Japanese boxer.
