Kazuto Ioka and Fernando Martinez will square off for a super flyweight unification bout this weekend with the WBA and IBF belts on the line in Tokyo.
A mouthwatering encounter is predicted, as the undefeated Argentine Martinez heads to the Japanese capital looking to upset the home crowd and down his more experienced rival, while Ioka will be looking to unify belts for the first time since 2012, when he saw off Akira Yaegashi for the WBA and WBC minimumweight titles.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of Ioka vs Martinez.
Date: Sunday, July 7
Main event ringwalks (approx): 7 p.m. ET / 12 midnight. UK (Sunday)
The ringwalks for Ioka vs Martinez are scheduled for about 6.50pm (ET) and 11.50pm (BST). These timings are subject to change.
What has been said?
“I’m happy to have a unification fight,” Ioka (32-2-1, 16 knockouts) told The Ring through Yusuke Ninomiya. “I think it’s a challenge to go further, and fighting an IBF champion is a big challenge. I’ve never won an IBF title before, so I want to win it!”
He was unable to secure the aforementioned fight with Estrada, who eventually decided to fight rising star Jesse Rodriguez last weekend, a result Ioka kept an eye on.
“Due to the nature of the show, negotiations didn’t go well and it didn’t happen at the end of last year,” he said though didn’t go into specifics but it is believed that Estrada’s financial demands were too much of a hurdle.
“I want to fight the winner of the Estrada vs. Jesse Rodriguez fight,” he said.
“I’ve come this far, but I’m not satisfied with where I am now, I want to see how far I can go and prove it,” he explained. “I want to give courage to the people watching. Of course, I’ll fight for my family and the people who support me.”
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