WBA super flyweight [115-pound] champion Fernando Martinez (17-0, 9 KOs) utilized his Marciano-esque nonstop clubbing punches to defeat former four-division world champion Kazuto Ioka (31-4-1, 16 KOs) by a 12-round unanimous decision in their rematch last Saturday night at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.
Like their first bout last July, the fight was nonstop from the first bell. Martinez, 33, used his high punch output to impress the judges, initiating the action throughout. That was where Ioka, 35, lost the fight. He let Martinez be the aggressor.
Martinez’s Pressure
The scores: 114-113, 114-112, and 117-110. There was a lot of criticism from boxing fans on social media about the 117-110 for Martinez, because they felt that judge Robert Hoyle had scored it much too wide, considering how razor-close the contest had been. Some fans saw this as a sign of bias on Hoyle’s part. However, he likely felt that Martinez’s nonstop aggressive, harder, and more numerous shots in every round were the difference. It was hard to ignore how Martinez always connected with the bigger punches. Ioka focused too much on counter-punching with his weaker shots and did not go on the attack the way he needed.
Ioka scored a tenth-round knockdown, dropping Martinez with a left hook. However, the Argentinian Martinez came storming back, attacking Ioka relentlessly with shots after being dropped. He continued to attack the Japanese star with a storm of punches in rounds 11 and 12. Ioka seemed up for that style, encouraging Fernando to keep battling him toe-to-toe in the final round. It was weird. Martinez was getting the better of Kazuto at close range with his Rocky Marciano-style clubbing punches, yet he still wanted to brawl.
Ioka’s Future
It’s pointless to have a trilogy match between them because Martinez has already shown that his high-volume style will be too much for the aging warrior Ioka. At 35, Ioka needs to consider retiring because he couldn’t beat the other champions, Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez and Phumelele Cafu, at 115.
Ioka could move up to bantamweight and give that a try to rejuvenate his career. However, his lack of power would be even more difficult for him in that weight class. To have success against the stronger punchers, Ioka needs to attack more and that’s not his style.
Last Updated on 05/11/2025
