The first of 3 world title fights televised in Japan today saw WBA Light Flyweight champion Kazuto Ioka (14-0, 9) given one of his toughest bouts to date, as he took on Nicaraguan puncher Felix Alvarado (18-1, 15).
Although both men are, usually, very different fighters with Alvarado being an aggressive fighter who backs opponents up then quickly breaks them down whilst Ioka is a pure boxer-puncher they gelled perfectly here. Alvarado as everyone expected came forward though Ioka, for the most part, decided to stand his ground and fight fire with fire.
From the first round on wards the men stood in front of each other with Alvarado trying to take Ioka's head off with every shot. Ioka showed his intelligence and boxing ability by blocking and slipping before landing counters.
The fight started competitive with Alvarado having plenty of success as he rushed Ioka though as the fight went on Ioka began to time Alvarado more and more whilst also swelling his left eye and landing harder cleaner punches. It had been close through 4 rounds though through the middle stretch of the bout Ioka totally took over as Alvarado's lack of experience cost him dearly.
By round 9 Ioka had put the close start behind him and totally taken over. The steam had gone from Alvarado's attacks and his punches, which had been snappy early on were now pushed and slow, they were easier to counter and Ioka was in total control despite standing at close range to his Nicaraguan challenger.
With the champion dominating the middle and late rounds it was no shock that he retained his title comfortably on the scorecards, well 2 of them anyway with scores of 119-109, though I'm not sure what Sergio Caiz was watching scoring it 115-113 for Ioka who was in charge for 8 or 9 rounds of the 12.
Showing posts with label WBA Light Flyweight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WBA Light Flyweight. Show all posts
Tuesday, 31 December 2013
Wednesday, 11 September 2013
Kazuto Ioka v Kwanthai Sithmorseng
Japanese boxing youngster Kazuto Ioka (13-0, 9) successfully retained his WBA Light Flyweight title earlier today as he overcame Thailand's Kwanthai Sithmorseng (43-2-1, 22) in an impressive and one-sided affair.
Ioka, a former WBA/WBC Minimumweight champion started the bout carefully trying to box his way into the bout behind his jab. It was a worrying sign for the Thai that he couldn't actually get around the jab of the champion in first stanza, and from then on Ioka merely moved up through the gears.
Although Kwanthai was brave and took a bit of a beating, especially in round 5 he looked to have the toughness to see out a few more rounds against Ioka, who appeared to be using the bout as a sparring session at times. It was impressive that Ioka was fighting in first gear and making a former world champion look out classed, out skilled and generally second rate.
In the seventh round Ioka moved up a gear and this time he forced Kwanthai to the canvas where the Thai took the 10 count as Ioka recorded his second successful defense of his title.
Ioka, a former WBA/WBC Minimumweight champion started the bout carefully trying to box his way into the bout behind his jab. It was a worrying sign for the Thai that he couldn't actually get around the jab of the champion in first stanza, and from then on Ioka merely moved up through the gears.
Although Kwanthai was brave and took a bit of a beating, especially in round 5 he looked to have the toughness to see out a few more rounds against Ioka, who appeared to be using the bout as a sparring session at times. It was impressive that Ioka was fighting in first gear and making a former world champion look out classed, out skilled and generally second rate.
In the seventh round Ioka moved up a gear and this time he forced Kwanthai to the canvas where the Thai took the 10 count as Ioka recorded his second successful defense of his title.
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
Kazuto Ioka v Wisanu Kokietgym
Rising Japanese star Kazuto Ioka (12-0, 8) made the first successful defense of his WBA Light Flyweight title as he further enhanced his reputation as one of the best body punchers in the sport today.
Although Thai challenger Wisanu Kokietgym (43-9-2, 13) managed to give Ioka some problems it often appeared as if he lacked the power to really trouble the champion who slowly worked his way in to the bout behind his jab.
Sadly the fight started really slowly with Ioka using his jab mainly to control the distance with little real action of note in the early rounds. Although Ioka did try to up the pace a little in round 3 it appeared that he was more than happy to do things at a leisurely pace against a game Thai who simply couldn't cope with Ioka's movement or hand speed.
Despite looking in control Ioka was put under a little bit of pressure in round 4 as Kokietgym forced him on to the back foot and tried to come back at the champion. Sadly for the challenger Ioka still seemed to do just enough to keep a whitewash on the score cards. What little success the challenger had in round 4 was seriously over-shadowed by Ioka have a fantastic round 5 in which he managed to walk Kokietgym to the ropes and landed numerous shots, though failed to ever stagger the challenger who was looking a lot tougher than his record would have you believe (he had suffered 6 stoppages in his previous 8 losses).
Round 6 was closer than many of the others and round 7 was certainly one of, if not the, stand out round for the challenger who managed to give just as good as he got, unfortunately though it still appeared as if Ioka was boxing well within himself. This same restrained mindset of the champion was evident in round 8 as neither fighter did much at all for the opening minute, though Ioka seemed to unshackle himself and went looking for the challenger later in the round.
Having managed to get some rounds under his belt Ioka put his foot on the gas in round 9 and started to land bigger shots on a challenger who, whilst still throwing back, looked to be taking more and more shots. It was whilst Ioka was forcing the pressure that he managed to land a beautiful 3 punch combination that started and ended with right hands to the body, the second of which sent Kokietgym down for the count and with a glassy eyed look in his eyes.
With a prospective super fight against Roman Gonzalez on the horizon it makes sense that Ioka wanted to get some rounds under his belt, especially at Light Flyweight where his previous bout went just 6 rounds. At this stage however it's hard to see Ioka defeating the Nicaraguan wrecking ball.
Although Thai challenger Wisanu Kokietgym (43-9-2, 13) managed to give Ioka some problems it often appeared as if he lacked the power to really trouble the champion who slowly worked his way in to the bout behind his jab.
Sadly the fight started really slowly with Ioka using his jab mainly to control the distance with little real action of note in the early rounds. Although Ioka did try to up the pace a little in round 3 it appeared that he was more than happy to do things at a leisurely pace against a game Thai who simply couldn't cope with Ioka's movement or hand speed.
Despite looking in control Ioka was put under a little bit of pressure in round 4 as Kokietgym forced him on to the back foot and tried to come back at the champion. Sadly for the challenger Ioka still seemed to do just enough to keep a whitewash on the score cards. What little success the challenger had in round 4 was seriously over-shadowed by Ioka have a fantastic round 5 in which he managed to walk Kokietgym to the ropes and landed numerous shots, though failed to ever stagger the challenger who was looking a lot tougher than his record would have you believe (he had suffered 6 stoppages in his previous 8 losses).
Round 6 was closer than many of the others and round 7 was certainly one of, if not the, stand out round for the challenger who managed to give just as good as he got, unfortunately though it still appeared as if Ioka was boxing well within himself. This same restrained mindset of the champion was evident in round 8 as neither fighter did much at all for the opening minute, though Ioka seemed to unshackle himself and went looking for the challenger later in the round.
Having managed to get some rounds under his belt Ioka put his foot on the gas in round 9 and started to land bigger shots on a challenger who, whilst still throwing back, looked to be taking more and more shots. It was whilst Ioka was forcing the pressure that he managed to land a beautiful 3 punch combination that started and ended with right hands to the body, the second of which sent Kokietgym down for the count and with a glassy eyed look in his eyes.
With a prospective super fight against Roman Gonzalez on the horizon it makes sense that Ioka wanted to get some rounds under his belt, especially at Light Flyweight where his previous bout went just 6 rounds. At this stage however it's hard to see Ioka defeating the Nicaraguan wrecking ball.
Monday, 31 December 2012
Kazuto Ioka v Jose Alfredo Rodriguez
Young Japanese fighter Kazuto Ioka (11-0, 7) became a 2-weight world champion as he claimed the WBA Light Flyweight title by stopping the sadly out classed Mexican Jose Alfredo Rodriguez (28-2, 17) in just 6 very fun to watch rounds.
It was obvious from very early on that Ioka was simply too good for Rodriguez with his power and skills showing from the opening bell. By the end of the opening round it appeared obvious we were in for a short one with Rodriguez being dropped before we'd even finished he first stanza. Rodriguez proved his Mexican bravery as he fought back over the following few rounds in an extremely physical bout, though he was always being out classed by a supremely talented youngster who had made his name at Minimumweight.
Ioka's power, hand speed and accuracy started to wear down Rodriguez and in round 6 Ioka put his foot on the gas and dropped Rodriguez twice before the referee waved the bout off with just seconds of the round left.
Ioka's WBA Light Flyweight title is his third professional world title after having won (and unified) the WBA and WBC Minimumweight titles over the past year or so. It's hard to think of any other fighter with so few fights who has won so much. Even more impressively is the fact that Ioka's title winning fights have come against fighters with very impressive records including Oleydong Sithsamerchai (then 35-0-1), Akira Yaegashi (then 15-2) and now Rodriguez (who entered 28-1). If he continues on this impressive streak the sky really is his limit, especially considering he is just 23.
This is the second successive loss in the career of Jose Alfredo Rodriguez (the first by stoppage) and whilst he is more experienced as a professional than Ioka it was obvious that he wasn't world class. He will need to go back to Mexico and hope to correct some of his flaws that Ioka picked to pieces with ridiculously brilliant combinations.
It was obvious from very early on that Ioka was simply too good for Rodriguez with his power and skills showing from the opening bell. By the end of the opening round it appeared obvious we were in for a short one with Rodriguez being dropped before we'd even finished he first stanza. Rodriguez proved his Mexican bravery as he fought back over the following few rounds in an extremely physical bout, though he was always being out classed by a supremely talented youngster who had made his name at Minimumweight.
Ioka's power, hand speed and accuracy started to wear down Rodriguez and in round 6 Ioka put his foot on the gas and dropped Rodriguez twice before the referee waved the bout off with just seconds of the round left.
Ioka's WBA Light Flyweight title is his third professional world title after having won (and unified) the WBA and WBC Minimumweight titles over the past year or so. It's hard to think of any other fighter with so few fights who has won so much. Even more impressively is the fact that Ioka's title winning fights have come against fighters with very impressive records including Oleydong Sithsamerchai (then 35-0-1), Akira Yaegashi (then 15-2) and now Rodriguez (who entered 28-1). If he continues on this impressive streak the sky really is his limit, especially considering he is just 23.
This is the second successive loss in the career of Jose Alfredo Rodriguez (the first by stoppage) and whilst he is more experienced as a professional than Ioka it was obvious that he wasn't world class. He will need to go back to Mexico and hope to correct some of his flaws that Ioka picked to pieces with ridiculously brilliant combinations.
Saturday, 17 November 2012
Roman Gonzalez v Juan Francisco Estrada
Nicaraguan Roman Gonzalez (34-0, 28) got a much tougher than expected bout whe he took on fearless Mexican Juan Francisco Estrada (22-2, 18) in a defense of his WBA Light Flyweight title that deserves to be mentioned as one of the genuine fights of the year.
The opening round saw Gonzalez starting very slowly as he put pressure on Estrada though didn't throw a lot as he allowed Estrada to tag his guard time and time again. In the last 45 seconds or so of the round however Gonzalez stepped on the pedal and literally stole the round with a dominant display of aggressiveness. Over the following two or three round Gonzalez really turned up the heat and it seemed as if we were almost certainly going to have an early finish.
Amazingly the fight just started to warm up and every time Gonzalez would land a series of shots, Estrada would come back with his own flurry as the two men started to beat the stuffing out of each other in a good old tear up. Sadly for Estrada he was spending periods of time on the ropes where Gonzalez was really taking advantage especially with his bone crushing body shots. Despite taking massive numbers of shots to the body Estrada was fighting back and showing not only bravery but the true spirit of a world level fighter.
Whilst most bouts slow down, this just got better and better as both men gave it there all and took a huge amount out of each other. Sadly for both men their defenses were shown to be seriously lacking, however their heart and chin (and bodies) proved to be made of stern stuff and they both managed to see out the distance in genuinely one of the must watch fights of the year.
Although all the rounds from 3-12 were hugely competitive it just seemed that Gonzalez was doing just enough to claim the majority and that was reflected on the judges score cards which all favoured the Nicaraguan by notable margins.
The opening round saw Gonzalez starting very slowly as he put pressure on Estrada though didn't throw a lot as he allowed Estrada to tag his guard time and time again. In the last 45 seconds or so of the round however Gonzalez stepped on the pedal and literally stole the round with a dominant display of aggressiveness. Over the following two or three round Gonzalez really turned up the heat and it seemed as if we were almost certainly going to have an early finish.
Amazingly the fight just started to warm up and every time Gonzalez would land a series of shots, Estrada would come back with his own flurry as the two men started to beat the stuffing out of each other in a good old tear up. Sadly for Estrada he was spending periods of time on the ropes where Gonzalez was really taking advantage especially with his bone crushing body shots. Despite taking massive numbers of shots to the body Estrada was fighting back and showing not only bravery but the true spirit of a world level fighter.
Whilst most bouts slow down, this just got better and better as both men gave it there all and took a huge amount out of each other. Sadly for both men their defenses were shown to be seriously lacking, however their heart and chin (and bodies) proved to be made of stern stuff and they both managed to see out the distance in genuinely one of the must watch fights of the year.
Although all the rounds from 3-12 were hugely competitive it just seemed that Gonzalez was doing just enough to claim the majority and that was reflected on the judges score cards which all favoured the Nicaraguan by notable margins.
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