Kazuto Ioka is the nephew of flyweight champion Hiroki Ioka.
34 Facts About Kazuto Ioka
1.
2.
Kazuto Ioka reached the semifinals of the 2008 King's Cup, an amateur boxing tournament held in Thailand, before losing to Amnat Ruenroeng.
3.
Kazuto Ioka joined Tokyo Agricultural University, hoping to represent his country in the 2008 Olympics but he would fall short on the qualifiers.
4.
Kazuto Ioka captured the national title by stopping Masayoshi Segawa in the final 10th round.
5.
Kazuto Ioka went on to defend his title twice in 2011, first against Juan Hernandez, winning via unanimous decision, and then against Yodgoen Tor Chalermchai, winning via first-round technical knockout on New Year's Eve 2011.
6.
On 20 June 2012, Kazuto Ioka met WBA champion Akira Yaegashi in a match that marked the first time two Japanese fighters had met to unify world titles.
7.
Kazuto Ioka defeated the WBA champion Akira Yaegashi via a unanimous decision.
8.
The day after the fight, Kazuto Ioka decided to move up a weight division.
9.
Shortly after the fight, Kazuto Ioka moved up to light flyweight as well.
10.
On December 31,2012, Kazuto Ioka beat undefeated Jose Alfredo Rodriguez for the vacant WBA light-flyweight title at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium.
11.
Kazuto Ioka knocked Rodriguez down once in round 1 and twice in round 6 before the referee stopped the fight.
12.
Kazuto Ioka held the Regular version of the WBA's title, while Roman Gonzalez was the WBA champion.
13.
Kazuto Ioka went on to defend his title three times but he never faced Gonzalez.
14.
On February 28,2014, Kazuto Ioka would vacate the WBA light flyweight title to move up to the flyweight division.
15.
On May 7,2014, Kazuto Ioka faced Thai IBF champion Amnat Ruenroeng at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium.
16.
Kazuto Ioka seemed to be the more active boxer but Ruenroeng landed heavier blows while countering Kazuto Ioka.
17.
Kazuto Ioka was later granted a voluntary defense against Roberto Sosa, with the winner ordered to face Reveco.
18.
Kazuto Ioka beat Sosa in a shutout unanimous decision.
19.
Kazuto Ioka was nearing a deal to fight WBA flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada, when the latter vacated to compete at super flyweight.
20.
Kazuto Ioka was knocked down for the first time in his career against 18 year old challenger and WBA interim champion Stamp Kiatniwat.
21.
Kazuto Ioka rallied, pummeling Kiatniwat to the body, until he finally dropped the challenger twice in round 9.
22.
In November 2017, Kazuto Ioka vacated his title after five successful defenses.
23.
Kazuto Ioka went on to announce his retirement at age 28 after getting married and reportedly falling out with his father and promoter, Kazunori Kazuto Ioka.
24.
On New Year's Eve in 2018, Kazuto Ioka fought three weight champion Donnie Nietes for the vacant WBO super-flyweight title.
25.
In June 2019, Kazuto Ioka fought Aston Palicte for the vacant WBO super flyweight title.
26.
Kazuto Ioka made the second defense of his WBO title in an exciting fight against undefeated three weight champion and domestic foe Kosei Tanaka on New Year's Eve 2020 in Tokyo.
27.
Kazuto Ioka was expected to face the IBF super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas in a title unification bout on December 31,2021, at the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.
28.
Kazuto Ioka was rescheduled to face the WBO Asia Pacific and OPBF super flyweight champion Ryoji Fukunaga instead, on the same date and at the same venue.
29.
On December 31,2022, Kazuto Ioka made his sixth super flyweight title defense in a unification bout with WBA champion Joshua Franco.
30.
Kazuto Ioka beat Franco by unanimous decision to capture the WBA title, which was previously vacated as Franco failed to make weight.
31.
Kazuto Ioka justified his role as the vast betting favorite by knocking out Perez in the 7th round of their scheduled 12-round bout.
32.
Kazuto Ioka lost by unanimous decision to the IBF super-flyweight champion Fernando Martinez in a title unification bout on July 7,2024.
33.
Kazuto Ioka was born in Sakai, Osaka, and currently resides in Tokyo.
34.
On 19 May 2021, Kazuto Ioka was cleared of all doping charges, as it emerged that the JBC had mishandled the samples, and they took responsibility for their poor sample management.