Kazuto Ioka has revived an old tradition, but it’s a new platform on which he will appear that has sparked industry-wide interest in what’s to come in the year ahead.
Ioka, 31-4-1 (16 KOs) and his team previously confirmed his plans to headline a New Year’s Eve boxing event in Tokyo, Japan. It was confirmed on Friday that his opponent will be Venezuela's Maikel Ordosgoitti, 15-1 (14 KOs), in a scheduled 12-round, WBA bantamweight title eliminator to signal Ioka's debut in the 118lbs division.
Also included on the show, ambitious junior flyweight Daiya Kira, 3-0 (2 KOs) will face Mexico's Ivan Garcia, 13-4-1 (5 KOs) in a WBA 108lbs elimination bout.
A major update to the event came earlier this week when it was revealed that his fight will air live on streaming service Lemino. The move signals – for now – the end of his working relationship with ABEMA-TV.
The significance in the platform switch is that Lemino is also the boxing home for Naoya and Takuma Inoue.
Naturally, speculation ran rampant that Takuma Inoue will become Ioka’s targeted foe in a 2026 bid to become Japan’s first-ever male five-division titlist. The younger Inoue claimed the WBC 118lbs title in a hard-fought, unanimous decision over previously unbeaten countryman Tenshin Nasukawa in their entertaining November 24 clash at Toyota Arena in Toyko.
For now, the objective for Ioka, 36, is to return to the win column. He will have to get past Ordosgoitti, who returns to his natural weight after his trying his luck in the featherweight portion of the WBC Grand Prix Tournament earlier this year.
Ioka - a former 105lbs, 1081lbs, 112lbs and 115lbs titleholder - was considered unlucky to come up short versus then-unbeaten WBA titlist Fernando “Puma” Martinez in their May 11 rematch at Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo. The bout came 10 months after Ioka’s WBA 115lbs reign came to a close via unanimous decision in their July 2024 WBA/IBF unification bout at Tokyo’s famed Ryogoku Kokugikan Arena.
Ioka’s last victory came in his previous New Year’s Eve appearance, a 7th round knockout of Josber Perez in 2023. His forthcoming appearance on the year-end holiday will mark his 13th such occasion.
The tradition dates back to 2011, the year Ioka claimed the WBC 105lbs belt for his first major title. From there through 2023, the only year where he didn’t fight on New Year’s Eve came in 2017, when he was briefly retired.
Plans were previously in place for Ioka and Martinez to rematch last New Year’s Eve. Martinez withdrew just hours before the pre-fight weigh-in due to extreme health issues, for which he was a no-show for the preceding media workout and final pre-fight press conference.
While Ioka is set to resume that tradition this year, it will come in a non-title fight.
However, there are still major implications attached. A win could change his luck for his next outing, regardless of whether Ioka attempts the WBA route.
A major card is being planned for next May at the famed Tokyo Dome, expected to be topped by undisputed champion Naoya Inoue’s long-awaited all-Japanese super fight with Junto Nakatani.
Takuma Inoue is expected to defend his WBC 118lbs title on the undercard. Mr. Hideuyki Ohashi, founder and head of Ohashi Promotions and the promoter for both Inoues, confirmed that Ioka is on a list of high-profile options for the challenge.
Such a fight was never previously considered, because the Inoues and Ioka always ran in different circles. Most recently, Ioka’s deal with ABEMA-TV served as a roadblock, which is now removed with the decision for Lemino to carry his events moving forward.
Ioka is 10-1-1 (7 KOs) in his previous 12 New Year’s Eve headliners, all in title fights. He is presently joined by Naoya Inoue as the only male Japanese boxers ever to win major titles in four weight divisions. Ioka now aims to join female boxing legend Naoko Fujioka as Japan’s only-ever five-division titleholders.
