The final world championship boxing match of 2021 will take place in Tokyo, Japan on New Years Eve. The event is WBO super flyweight world championship Kazuto Ioka vs Ryoji Fukunaga.
Kazuto Ioka (27-2, 15 KOs) was originally to fight Filipino IBF champion Jerwin Ancajas but the travel restrictions prevented the Filipino champion from entering Japan so Ioka opted for a late replacement to defend his title and stay active.
Ioka won the vacant WBO title in 2019 when he knocked out Filipino Aston Palicte to become a champion in four different weight classes.
This will be Ioka’s fourth title defense and he wants to remain a champion and his dream is to unify all the belts.
Ryoji Fukunaga (15-4, 14 KOs) is the challenger who will fill the void and he promised to the Japanese media during the pre-fight presser that he will attack the champion and bring the pressure.
Fukunaga has never tasted championship gold, but the southpaw feels he has nothing to lose and will give his all in the ring.
Ioka won’t fall for the tactics and said he will be careful and try to box without error so he can have a unification bout with Ancajas in the future.
Another fight that is possible for Ioka is a rematch with Donnie Nietes so he can avenge his defeat to the Filipino veteran.
The event is promoted by Shisei Promotions.
Fight Card
Super Flyweight Championship – Kazuto Ioka vs Ryoji Fukunaga (WBO Title)
Welterweight – Akihiro Kondo vs Aso Ishiwaki
Super Featherweight – Seiya Iwamoto vs Takuya Hirose
Super Flyweight – Go Kitani vs Hiromu Saito
Event: Kazuto Ioka vs Ryoji Fukunaga WBO Super Flyweight Championship
Venue: Ota-City General Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan
Date: Friday, December 31, 2021
TV/Live Stream: In Japan on TBS
