Kazuto Ioka scored a hard fought and closely contested majority decision over hard-hitting Argentine Juan Carlos Reveco this past Wednesday evening in Osaka, Japan. In just his eighteenth pro bout, the Japanese fighter won a third world title in as many divisions joining Koki Kameda as the only countrymen to do so, although Ioka did it in seven fewer bouts.
Judge Raul Caiz Sr (US) had the bout a draw while Carlos Sucre Sr (Venezuela) had it 116-113 and Silvestre Aibianza (Phillipines) had the bout 115-113 for Ioka.
Reveco was the aggressor for a lot of the fight but being too rabid with his punches made him miss a lot, while Ioka was much more precise and effective even though Reveco threw the harder punches.
The loss snapped Reveco's nineteen fight win streak dating back to 2007 and this would have been the eighth defense of his WBA gold title.
Previously, Ioka was WBA/WBC minimumweight champion and WBA lightweight champion and he will now look to defend the WBA flyweight title.
After watching the fight, my score matched that of judge Aibainza with 115-113 going to Ioka. The Argentine failed to score some rounds his way because of the overly aggressive style that saw him miss many punches. Ioka's ring generalship and effective aggression was the difference maker in some of the closer rounds that were more difficult to score.