On May 11, at the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, the WBA World Super Flyweight Title Match took place. The undefeated champion Fernando “Puma” Martinez (Argentina, 17-0, 9 KOs) faced former WBA world champion and current No.6 contender Kazuto Ioka (Shisei Gym, 31-3-1, 16 KOs). Martinez won the 12-round bout by decision.
In this direct rematch after about 10 months, Martinez started aggressively, while Ioka focused on defense and targeted the left body shot. In round 2, Martinez tried to engage in close combat, shaking his rhythm, while Ioka responded with a counter left hook.
In round 3, Martinez attacked the body, then followed with a right uppercut and a left hook. Ioka threw a right counter from the inside, but Martinez responded with a strong right hook. In round 4, Martinez landed jabs, then right and left hooks without overcommitting. In round 5, both fought at mid-range, and Martinez varied his punches with jabs, right hooks, and uppercuts.
In round 6, Ioka landed a right counter, but Martinez kept pressing forward with a right hook, leading to a back-and-forth exchange. Ioka responded with a left body shot. In round 7, Martinez pushed with left and right hooks. Though Ioka was backed up, he landed a left body shot and returned a right straight.
In round 8, Martinez advanced, but Ioka held his ground, landing jabs and left body shots. In round 9, Ioka pushed back against Martinez’s attacks with left body shots. In round 10, Martinez unleashed a barrage of punches, but Ioka stopped his momentum with a left body shot and countered with a left hook to score a knockdown. Martinez got up and showed willingness to continue.
In round 11, Martinez, unable to go all-in, threw body-powered hooks with both hands to press Ioka, who answered with inside counters. In the final round, Martinez aggressively swung hooks from both sides. Ioka traded punches, but Martinez seemed to have the upper hand as the final bell rang—a great fight.
The official scores were 117-110, 115-112, and 114-113.
At 36, Ioka calmly analyzed his previous loss both mentally and technically. He bravely entered the rematch and fought an excellent bout, narrowly missing victory. Though it ended in disappointment, his performance deeply moved the audience.
In the semi-final, a 133-pound contracted 10-rounder, WBA No.4 and IBF No.15 ranked Shunto Tsutsumi (Shisei Gym, 6-0, 3 KOs) faced WBA No.15 Jaime Arboleda (Panama, 20-3, 15 KOs). Tsutsumi won by TKO at 2:39 of Round 3.
In the first round, Tsutsumi used his superior height and reach to land a right straight and a left body shot on Arboleda.
In the second round, a close-range battle ensued, with Tsutsumi landing clean left body shots and right straights to gain the upper hand.
In the third round, Arboleda suffered a cut above his left eye due to an accidental head clash. The bout turned into a fierce exchange, and Tsutsumi landed a left hook that knocked Arboleda down.
After the restart, Tsutsumi unleashed a flurry of punches, prompting the referee to stop the fight.
In a contracted 110-pound 8-round bout, WBA light flyweight No.6 Daiya Kira (Shisei Gym, 2-0, 2 KOs) faced WBA No.13 Jackson Zapata (Venezuela, 11-2-2, 9 KOs).
Kira won by unanimous decision, with scores of 79-73, 79-71, and 80-7
After scoring back-to-back first-round KOs since his professional debut last June, Daiya Kira returned to the ring after about six months. In only his third pro fight, he faced a world-ranked opponent. At the weigh-in the day before, Zapata came in 300g overweight but managed to make weight just in time after being given a two-hour grace period.
From round one, the taller Zapata launched powerful shots from a crouching stance, but Kira fired back with strong rights of his own.
In round two, Zapata landed a clean left hook after a one-two combo, momentarily buckling Kira’s legs. However, Kira countered with a left hook and began his comeback.
In round three, Zapata moved around the ring, but Kira pressured forward with right straights and left hooks. The two exchanged fierce blows in close quarters.
In round four, Zapata switched to southpaw to create confusion, but Kira responded with fast combinations and body shots.
In round five, both fighters traded heavy shots, but the effects of weight cutting showed on Zapata, allowing Kira to gain the upper hand with aggressive attacks.
In round six, Kira kept up the pressure, landing right straights, left hooks, and body blows, while Zapata aimed for counter rights.
In round seven, Kira closed the distance with combinations and dropped Zapata with a left to the body. After the restart, Kira pursued with a right straight and more body shots, but Zapata showed gritty resilience.
In the final round, Kira chased Zapata, who was circling away. Despite Zapata clinching to escape, Kira landed a left hook and another left to the body to score another knockdown. Though unable to finish the fight, Kira dominated clearly and won by a wide decision.
Former champion Ioka said at the post-fight press conference, “I don’t feel I’ve reached my limit yet.” A comeback seems likely
This article has been translated and published with permission from BOXING MASTER.
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