Who won Ioka vs Franco?
Kazuto Ioka drew with Joshua Franco by majority draw in their 12 round contest on Saturday, December 31st, 2022, at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo.
The scorecards were announced as 115-113, 114-114, 114-114, meaning it was a majority draw.
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 unified super flyweight championship of the world, with the WBA, and WBO belts on the line.
Ioka vs Franco stats
Back in December 2022, Kazuto Ioka stepped into the ring with a record of 29 wins, 2 losses, and 0 draws.
Joshua Franco made his way to the ring with a record of 18 wins, 1 loss and 2 draws.
Kazuto Ioka was the older man by 7 years, at 34 years old.
Franco had a 1-inch reach advantage.
Both Kazuto Ioka and Joshua Franco fought out of an orthodox stance.
Ioka was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 10 more fights, and made his debut in 2009, 6 years and 3 months earlier than Franco, whose first professional fight was in 2015. He had fought 170 more professional rounds, totaling 331 compared to Franco's 161.
Ioka vs Franco form
Ioka had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 1 of them, going the distance 4 times.
In his last fight before this contest, he had defeated Donnie Nietes on July 13, 2022, by unanimous decision in their WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan.
Prior to that, 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.
Going into that contest, he had beaten Francisco Rodriguez Jr on September 1, 2021, by unanimous decision in their WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo.
Before that, he had won against 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.
He had beaten Jeyvier Cintron on December 31, 2019, by unanimous decision in their WBO World Junior Lightweight championship fight at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo.
Franco had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance twice.
In his last fight leading up to this contest, 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.
Prior to that, his contest against Andrew Moloney on November 14, 2020 ended in a no contest at The Bubble, MGM Grand, Nevada.
Going into that contest, he had defeated Andrew Moloney on June 23, 2020, by unanimous decision in their WBA Interim World Super Flyweight championship fight at MGM Grand, Las Vegas.
Before that, he had won against Jose Alejandro Burgos on January 11, 2020, by technical knockout in the 9th round at Alamodome, Texas.
He had drawn with Oscar Negrete on August 10, 2019, by split draw in their 10 round contest at Verizon Theatre, Texas.
Activity check
In terms of activity leading into the fight, Kazuto Ioka had been fighting more than Joshua Franco.
Going into this contest, Kazuto Ioka had last fought 5 months and 18 days ago, while Joshua Franco's last outing had been 1 year, 4 months and 17 days ago.
Ioka's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, which means he had been fighting approximately every 7 months and 7 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 56 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 11.2 rounds on average.
Franco's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 4 months and 21 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 4 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 46 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 9.2 rounds on average.
What time did Ioka vs Franco start?
The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 11:00 AM UTC at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan, which was 6:00 AM EST or 3:00 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 11:00 AM GMT in the UK.
What were the odds on Ioka vs Franco?
Kazuto Ioka was a 4/7 (-180) favorite going into the contest, while Joshua Franco made his way into the ring at 11/8 (+140) with oddsmakers.
