Franco vs Ioka II

Who won Franco vs Ioka II?

Kazuto Ioka beat Joshua Franco by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest on Saturday, June 24th, 2023, at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo.

The scorecards were announced as 115-113, 116-112, 116-112 in favor of winner Kazuto Ioka.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Super Flyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 115 pounds (8.2 stone or 52.2 kg).

This contest was for the WBA super flyweight championship of the world.

The undercard featured the clash of Mori vs Watanabe.

Franco vs Ioka II stats

Back in June 2023, Joshua Franco stepped into the ring with a record of 18 wins, 1 loss, and 3 draws.

Kazuto Ioka made his way to the ring with a record of 29 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw.

Joshua Franco was the younger man by 6 years, at 28 years old.

Franco had a 1-inch reach advantage.

Both Joshua Franco and Kazuto Ioka fought out of an orthodox stance.

Franco was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 10 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2015, 6 years and 3 months later than Ioka, whose first professional fight was in 2009. He had fought 170 fewer professional rounds, totaling 161 compared to Ioka's 331.

Franco vs Ioka II form

Franco had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight before this contest, he had drawn with Kazuto Ioka on December 31, 2022, by majority draw in their 12 round contest in their WBA World Super Flyweight and WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan.

Prior to that, he had defeated Andrew Moloney on August 14, 2021, by unanimous decision in their WBA World Super Flyweight championship fight at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Oklahoma, United States.

Going into that contest, his fight against Andrew Moloney on November 14, 2020 ended in a no contest at The Bubble, MGM Grand, Nevada.

Before that, he had beaten Andrew Moloney on June 23, 2020, by unanimous decision in their WBA Interim World Super Flyweight championship fight at MGM Grand, Las Vegas.

He had won against Jose Alejandro Burgos on January 11, 2020, by technical knockout in the 9th round at Alamodome, Texas.

Ioka had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance 3 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had drawn with Joshua Franco on December 31, 2022, by majority draw in their 12 round contest in their WBA World Super Flyweight and WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan.

Prior to that, he had beaten Donnie Nietes on July 13, 2022, by unanimous decision in their WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Ryoji Fukunaga on December 31, 2021, by unanimous decision in their WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo.

Before that, he had won against Francisco Rodriguez Jr on September 1, 2021, by unanimous decision in their WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo.

He had defeated Kosei Tanaka on December 31, 2020, by technical knockout in the 8th round in their WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Kazuto Ioka had been fighting more than Joshua Franco.

Going into this contest, Joshua Franco had last fought 5 months and 24 days ago, while Kazuto Ioka's last outing had been 5 months and 24 days ago.

Franco's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 5 months and 13 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 8 months and 9 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 48 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 9.6 rounds on average.

Ioka's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 5 months and 24 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months. In those fights, he fought a total of 56 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 11.2 rounds on average.

What time did Franco vs Ioka II start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 12:00 PM UTC at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan, which was 8:00 AM EST or 5:00 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 1:00 PM BST in the UK.

What were the odds on Franco vs Ioka II?

Joshua Franco was a 4/5 (-110) underdog going into the contest, while Kazuto Ioka made his way into the ring at 19/20 (-120) with oddsmakers.