Fernando Martinez scores with an uppercut throughout his junior bantamweight title-unification battle towards Kazuto Ioka. (Photograph by Naoki Fukuda)
Fernando Martinez got here up big on the highway.
The unbeaten Argentinean used pure aggression to sway the judges in a unanimous choice victory over Kazuto Ioka. Scores have been 116-112, 117-111 and a criminally poor 120-108 (Edward Hernandez Sr.) for Martinez.
With the win, Martinez retained the IBF 115-pound title and received the WBA belt Sunday on the famed Kokugikan Enviornment in Tokyo.
The battle of The Ring’s No. 2 and No. 3-rated junior bantamweights noticed Martinez drive a livid tempo from the opening bell. The power carried in his vibrant, carnival-like ring entrance translated within the ring as he carried warmth on each punch thrown within the opening spherical. Ioka confirmed a world-class chin all through the competition. He weathered the storm each time and virtually all the time got here again together with his signature physique assault.
Ioka continued to focus on Martinez’s midsection, a supply of discomfort for the 32-year-old Argentinean. The response was heavy proper fingers and uppercuts by Martinez, who repeatedly snapped again Ioka’s head however couldn’t break his will.
Martinez repeatedly fought in bursts for a lot of the primary half. Ioka, 35, persistently made key changes in direction of the halfway level of every spherical. Nevertheless, the four-division titlist continued to battle to maintain Martinez at bay.
Ioka closed out the primary half with a vicious physique assault, whereas Martinez appeared to favor his left hand.
The momentum spilled over into the second half, as Martinez was visibly affected by Ioka’s left hook to the physique. Nevertheless, he remained upright and got here again robust with a two-fisted assault in spherical eight. The high-volume, mixture punching supplied by Martinez prompted matches for Ioka, who might solely climate the storm.
Ioka’s left hook to the physique discovered the mark a number of occasions. (Photograph by Naoki Fukuda)
Persistence reaped main dividends for Ioka, who persistently landed clear combos in rounds 9 and ten. Martinez always made his presence felt however struggled to defend towards Ioka’s left hook downstairs.
Ioka—an Osaka native primarily based in Tokyo however who trains in Las Vegas—dictated the tempo within the latter phases. Martinez correctly created separation between the 2 as Ioka tried to stroll him down with combos. The technique had some degree of success as he was in a position to land proper fingers down the center. Ioka took the photographs effectively and responded with left hooks downstairs and proper fingers up prime.
The all the time energetic Martinez saluted the gang on the finish of the eleventh earlier than he sat on his nook stool. He then overtly embraced Ioka in the beginning of the twelfth and ultimate spherical earlier than he proceeded to place in his best work of the battle.
Martinez’s aggression paid off, with all three judges awarding him the choice over Ioka. (Photograph by Naoki Fukuda)
A proper hand by Martinez snapped again the top of Ioka, who appeared stunned greater than the rest however didn’t instantly reply. Martinez discovered his groove and was in a position to land photographs as he always switched between standard and southpaw. Ioka responded with combos as he’d accomplished all through the competition however not with the identical influence as was the case in a lot of the second half rounds.
Martinez threw till the very finish, although he slipped to the canvas simply earlier than the bell to finish the battle.
The win is a career-best for Martinez (17-0, 9 knockouts), who fought on the highway for the fifth straight time.
He received the IBF title in a Feb. 2022 victory over long-reigning Jerwin Ancajas (34-4-2, 23 KOs) in Las Vegas. Martinez repeated the feat with a extra convincing win of their Oct. 202 rematch in Carson, California. Only one battle got here of his 2023 marketing campaign, an eleventh-round stoppage of unbeaten Jade Bornea final June 24 in Minneapolis.
The bout versus Ioka culminated a months-long pursuit of title unification. Martinez was in talks with each Ioka and then-Ring/lineal/WBC champ Juan Francisco Estrada (44-4, 28KOs).
Ioka (31-3-1, 16 KOs) got here up quick in his second bid to change into a two-division unified titlist. He was already Japan’s first ever boxer to win belts in 4 divisions however was denied additional historical past in a Dec. 2022 twelve-round draw versus Joshua Franco. A win would’ve seen Ioka unify the WBA and WBO belts, ten years after his unified WBA/WBC strawweight title reign.
The stalemate carried further repercussions. Ioka was ordered to face countryman Junto Nakatani, however opted to vacate his WBO belt to pursue a Franco rematch. He defeated the San Antonio native final June in Tokyo to win the WBA belt.
Franco is the older brother of Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs), The Ring’s No. 5 pound-for-pound fighter. He additionally just lately dethroned Estrada by way of seventh-round knockout to win The Ring/lineal/WBC 115-pound crown and was ringside on Sunday.
The brother’s keeper angle would’ve made for a terrific further backdrop to a three-belt unification. Rodriguez will as an alternative deal with a showdown versus Martinez, his initially said goal when he deliberate to return to junior bantamweight.
Ioka beforehand hinted at 2024 being his ultimate 12 months within the sport. He’s received titles at strawweight, junior flyweight, flyweight and junior bantamweight in a Corridor of Fame-worthy profession.
In the meantime, the enjoyable trip continues for Martinez whose profession prospects have by no means seemed brighter.
Martinez-Ioka aired stay on ABEMA-TV in Japan.
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