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Japanese star Kazuto Ioka was disappointed with his performance Saturday night when he fought Joshua Franco in a 12-round majority draw in the super flyweight unification bout at the Tokyo General Gymnasium.<\/p>\n
Two of the official judges scored 114-114, and one judge 115-113 in favor of Franco.<\/p>\n
Franco held the World Boxing Association title, while Ioka retained the World Boxing Association title for the sixth time.<\/p>\n
Ioke was aiming to become the first Japanese fighter to become a unified world champion in two weight classes.<\/p>\n
In June 2012, Ioka defeated Yaegashi to unify the WBA and WBC minimumweight world titles.<\/p>\n
Juan Francisco Estrada of Mexico, the World Boxing Council super flyweight champion, was watching from ringside.<\/p>\n
The match was certainly close, but it was Franco who picked up the momentum in the second half.<\/p>\n
Ioka, 33 (29-2-1, 15 knockouts), is on a six-game winning streak since losing a decision to Donny Nietes in 2018. rematch.<\/p>\n
The Japanese veteran admits Franco’s boxing style was difficult to deal with.<\/p>\n
Ioka said, “I’m sorry that I couldn’t live up to your expectations. I thought I had the advantage in the middle of the match. Because of his technique and mental strength, I couldn’t show a clear difference.”<\/p>\n
At this time, there is no indication if a rematch will take place in the future.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n