Ioka vs Tanaka

Who won Ioka vs Tanaka?

Kazuto Ioka beat Kosei Tanaka by technical knockout in the 8th round on Thursday, December 31st, 2020, at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo.

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 WBO super flyweight championship of the world.

The undercard featured the clash of Kobayashi vs Higa.

Ioka vs Tanaka stats

Back in December 2020, Kazuto Ioka stepped into the ring with a record of 25 wins, 2 losses, and 0 draws, 14 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Kosei Tanaka made his way to the ring with an unblemished record of 15 wins and 0 draws, with 9 of those by knockout.

The stats suggested Tanaka had a slight advantage in power over Ioka, with a 60% knockout percentage compared to Ioka's 56%.

Kazuto Ioka was the older man by 6 years, at 32 years old.

Ioka had a 3-inch reach advantage.

Both Kazuto Ioka and Kosei Tanaka fought out of an orthodox stance.

Ioka was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 12 more fights, and made his debut in 2009, 4 years and 6 months earlier than Tanaka, whose first professional fight was in 2013. He had fought 146 more professional rounds, totaling 331 compared to Tanaka's 185.

Kosei Tanaka was ranked number 1 by the WBO in the 115lb division.

Ioka vs Tanaka form

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

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Jeyvier Cintron on December 31, 2019, by unanimous decision in their WBO World Junior Lightweight championship fight at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan.

Prior to that, he had won against Aston Palicte on June 19, 2019, by technical knockout in the 10th round in their WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at Makuhari Messe, Chiba.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Donnie Nietes on December 31, 2018, by split decision in their WBO World Junior Bantamweight championship fight at Wynn Palace Cotai, Macao, Macao.

Before that, he had beaten McWilliams Arroyo on September 8, 2018, by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Forum, Inglewood, United States.

He had defeated Noknoi Sitthiprasert on April 23, 2017, by unanimous decision in their WBA World Flyweight championship fight at EDION Arena Osaka, Osaka, Japan.

Tanaka had won 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 3 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Wulan Tuolehazi on December 31, 2019, by knockout in the 3rd round in their WBO World Flyweight championship fight at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan.

Prior to that, he had won against Jonathan Gonzalez on August 24, 2019, by technical knockout in the 7th round in their WBO World Flyweight championship fight at Takeda Teva Ocean Arena, Aichi.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Ryoichi Taguchi on March 16, 2019, by unanimous decision in their WBO World Flyweight championship fight at Memorial Center, Gifu.

Before that, he had beaten Sho Kimura on September 24, 2018, by majority decision in their WBO World Flyweight championship fight at Takeda Teva Ocean Arena, Aichi.

He had won against Ronnie Baldonado on March 31, 2018, by technical knockout in the 9th round at Nagoya, Aichi.

Activity check

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

Going into this contest, Kazuto Ioka had last fought 1 year ago, while Kosei Tanaka's last outing had been 1 year ago.

Ioka's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 8 months and 8 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 8 months and 26 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 56 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 11.2 rounds on average.

Tanaka's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years and 9 months, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 20 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 43 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 8.6 rounds on average.

What time did Ioka vs Tanaka start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 10:00 AM UTC at Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan, which was 5:00 AM EST or 2:00 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 10:00 AM GMT in the UK.

Who broadcast Ioka vs Tanaka?

Ioka vs Tanaka was broadcast on BoxNation in the UK.

What were the odds on Ioka vs Tanaka?

Kazuto Ioka was a 36/25 (+140) underdog going into the contest, while Kosei Tanaka made his way into the ring at 51/100 (-200) with oddsmakers.