The Rematch of 2023: Kazuto Ioka vs Joshua Franco

Published

2 years ago

June 19, 2023

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The most fascinating rematch of the year will take place this weekend in Tokyo, Japan where the world’s number four super-flyweight, Kazuto Ioka (29-2-1) meets the world’s number five super-flyweight, Joshua Franco (18-1-3). This is a re-run of their December 2022 split draw and promises something fascinating.

Franco, out of Texas, is perhaps the most aggressive fighter in the world. In December, he threw 1400 punches, nearly double the number thrown by Ioka, out of Osaka, who deployed all his experience to remain in control of the early part of the fight, relying upon superior accuracy and technical excellence to outscore a fighter who outworked him in every single round. In the first, they threw over a hundred jabs between them and landed almost none, striking at one another’s high guards, Ioka giving ground in those small increments and showing better head-movement.

Part of what Franco struggled with in the early part of that fight was range. Ioka is a general of renown and he knows the ring-ranges and how to access them. If Franco stood off, he found himself engaged in a technical battle he absolutely could not win; if he overstepped, he found himself rushing an opponent who has mastered small moves and has the uppercut to protect them and the right-hand to exact a wearying toll. Both men have chins equal to the other’s power and it is unlikely that the rematch will produce a stoppage unless the thirty-four-year-old Ioka has gone back considerably, but Franco’s problem was not one of accumulation but one of points. Wherever he tried to fight he seemed outmatched.

Meanwhile, he was forced to continue to fight at a demanding pace because any round in which he was outworked he was sure to lose. He had no choice but to continue to attack and to try to rack up points of his own while placing his fight-engine under the closest scrutiny imaginable. Rounds fell through his fingers like sand, until, in the fourth, he banked one.

Franco had found the Goldilocks range for his punches, putting his left foot inside Ioka’s left foot and staying there. He allowed Ioka his superior boxing and bet upon himself to out-punch the Japanese, and it worked. Franco is not fast handed, but he throws meaty punches that sound and look dramatic. Both men were busier in the fourth round and it suited Franco to get hit if it meant he could land important punches of his own. He had established a foothold in the fight. He would not have it all his own way, far from it, but he won the remainder of the fight, arguably stringing together four through nine before dropping off in the tenth.

Ioka seemed genuinely befuddled to me. He did jab, he did push off with both gloves, he did slip and duck and throw the right when his back hit the ropes and he did make those incremental moves, but Franco now matched them and it seemed no matter where Ioka turned, Franco was in his space without over-reaching in the way he had through three. If Franco hit as hard as his punches looked and sounded, Ioka would have been in trouble in the sixth, but a knockout percentage of thirty-five won’t cut it. In fact, Ioka (46%) is probably the puncher of the two.

Ioka tried to neaten up even further, fighting only along the direct front, uppercuts and jabs, while Franco threw meathooks, going to the body with more frequency as the fight progressed, both throwing eye-watering beltline work throughout. But it should be noted that within this chaos, Ioka did not panic. And he continued to outland Franco. Only human, Franco ceded the tenth and I thought the eleventh, though the final and official scorecards were probably settled in this confusing and difficult spell of the fight, nine and eleven so close as to be scored either way so far as I could tell.

Those scorecards ran 115-113 for Franco and 114-114, 114-114, a majority draw. To rescue that draw, Franco had to win that twelfth round. Had Ioka, who came out of his corner screaming, won this round, he would have been fighting someone else this Saturday and Franco would be cursing his flagging stamina and looking to match more minor contenders. Instead, he turned in the best round of his professional career, throwing an overwhelming number of punches in what was his busiest round of a hard fight. As has been said, quantity has a quality of its own, and if Ioka wasn’t quite overwhelmed, he was certainly chased out of contention of this three minutes, which you should see if you haven’t.

I enjoyed the first fight enough to watch and score it twice, emerging once with a 114-114 card, and once with a 115-113 card for Franco, mirroring the judging exactly. But it is not a classic. Perhaps it is the sight and sound of the punches both men landed, hard and sure but never drawing a serious reaction. There was something bloodless about it. A good fight but not a great one.

What is exciting about the rematch is not that it might be the same, which would certainly be worth watching in its own right, but that it might be different. Franco found his man, beyond all hope of contradiction and for all that he slipped a bit in the late rounds, he rallied magnificently to find him again in the twelfth. When a swarmer finds his man, it tends to be a permanent arrangement. Franco knows how Ioka moves, where he will be and so was able to force him to fight with more frequency, and often to outfight him. Will round one of the rematch just be round thirteen?

If that is the case, Ioka cannot hope to win. There is no way Franco will lose each of the first three rounds again and Ioka needed each of these just to score the draw first time around. The only solutions for the Japanese veteran is for him to change where he will be, or changes up his fight plan completely enough that it doesn’t matter that Franco finds him.

The notion of Ioka on his bike is attractive but at thirty-four years of age, it is unlikely he could sustain this strategy. Worse, Franco thrives on momentum. Vacating the space might just encourage the American to fill it. It seems likely to me then that Ioka will try to increase his punch output early which is going to lead to a very dramatic late showdown, or, my guess, that he will have prepared some pet-punch, some by-design combination that will place the predictable Franco under his control or in his wheelhouse. This is likely to produce something very agreeable for both the Sweet Scientists and the casual fan.

On balance, and based upon very little, I think that Ioka’s time has come and gone. He’s in with the wrong man, a man who would have been beaten back by Ioka in his prime but who now represents a nightmarish prospect for an older fighter. It will once again be close, but this time Franco will be contesting the twelfth in search of the win rather than the draw and will do enough to get there, split on the official cards.

One fight of intrigue appears on the undercard. Daigo Higa (Japan, 19-2-1) and Sirichai Thaiyen (Thailand, 65-4) wore straps in previous lives down at 112lbs. Now they meet in a crossroads dust-up at 118lbs. For the loser, professional oblivion, but the winner will become a person of interest at bantamweight.

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Matt McGrain

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Arne’s Almanac: The Good, the Bad, and the (Mostly) Ugly; a Weekend Boxing Recap and More

Published

2 days ago

May 6, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Arne’s Almanac: The Good, the Bad, and the (Mostly) Ugly; a Weekend Boxing Recap and More

It’s old news now, but on back-to-back nights on the first weekend of May, there were three fights that finished in the top six snoozefests ever as measured by punch activity. That’s according to CompuBox which has been around for 40 years.

In Times Square, the boxing match between Devin Haney and Jose Carlos Ramirez had the fifth-fewest number of punches thrown, but the main event, Ryan Garcia vs. Rolly Romero, was even more of a snoozefest, landing in third place on this ignoble list.

Those standings would be revised the next night – knocked down a peg when Canelo Alvarez and William Scull combined to throw a historically low 445 punches in their match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 152 by the victorious Canelo who at least pressed the action, unlike Scull (pictured) whose effort reminded this reporter of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” – no, not the movie starring Paul Newman, just the title.

CompuBox numbers, it says here, are best understood as approximations, but no amount of rejiggering can alter the fact that these three fights were stinkers. Making matters worse, these were pay-per-views. If one had bundled the two events, rather than buying each separately, one would have been out $90 bucks.

****

Thankfully, the Sunday card on ESPN from Las Vegas was redemptive. It was just what the sport needed at this moment – entertaining fights to expunge some of the bad odor. In the main go, Naoya Inoue showed why he trails only Shohei Ohtani as the most revered athlete in Japan.

Throughout history, the baby-faced assassin has been a boxing promoter’s dream. It’s no coincidence that down through the ages the most common nickname for a fighter – and by an overwhelming margin — is “Kid.”

And that partly explains Naoya Inoue’s charisma. The guy is 32 years old, but here in America he could pass for 17.

Joey Archer

Joey Archer, who passed away last week at age 87 in Rensselaer, New York, was one of the last links to an era of boxing identified with the nationally televised Friday Night Fights at Madison Square Garden.

Joey Archer

Archer made his debut as an MSG headliner on Feb. 4, 1961, and had 12 more fights at the iconic mid-Manhattan sock palace over the next six years. The final two were world title fights with defending middleweight champion Emile Griffith.

Archer etched his name in the history books in November of 1965 in Pittsburgh where he won a comfortable 10-round decision over Sugar Ray Robinson, sending the greatest fighter of all time into retirement. (At age 45, Robinson was then far past his peak.)

Born and raised in the Bronx, Joey Archer was a cutie; a clever counter-puncher recognized for his defense and ultimately for his granite chin. His style was embedded in his DNA and reinforced by his mentors.

Early in his career, Archer was domiciled in Houston where he was handled by veteran trainer Bill Gore who was then working with world lightweight champion Joe Brown. Gore would ride into the Hall of Fame on the coattails of his most famous fighter, “Will-o’-the Wisp” Willie Pep. If Joey Archer had any thoughts of becoming a banger, Bill Gore would have disabused him of that notion.

In all honesty, Archer’s style would have been box office poison if he had been black. It helped immensely that he was a native New Yorker of Irish stock, albeit the Irish angle didn’t have as much pull as it had several decades earlier. But that observation may not be fair to Archer who was bypassed twice for world title fights after upsetting Hurricane Carter and Dick Tiger.

When he finally caught up with Emile Griffith, the former hat maker wasn’t quite the fighter he had been a few years earlier but Griffith, a two-time Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the BWAA and a future first ballot Hall of Famer, was still a hard nut to crack.

Archer went 30 rounds with Griffith, losing two relatively tight decisions and then, although not quite 30 years old, called it quits. He finished 45-4 with 8 KOs and was reportedly never knocked down, yet alone stopped, while answering the bell for 365 rounds. In retirement, he ran two popular taverns with his older brother Jimmy Archer, a former boxer who was Joey’s trainer and manager late in Joey’s career.

May he rest in peace.

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Bombs Away in Las Vegas where Inoue and Espinoza Scored Smashing Triumphs

Published

4 days ago

May 4, 2025

David A. Avila

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Japan’s Naoya “Monster” Inoue banged it out with Mexico’s Ramon Cardenas, survived an early knockdown and pounded out a stoppage win to retain the undisputed super bantamweight world championship on Sunday.

Japan and Mexico delivered for boxing fans again after American stars failed in back-to-back days.

“By watching tonight’s fight, everyone is well aware that I like to brawl,” Inoue said.

Inoue (30-0, 27 KOs), and Cardenas (26-2, 14 KOs) and his wicked left hook, showed the world and 8,474 fans at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas that prizefighting is about punching, not running.

After massive exposure for three days of fights that began in New York City, then moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and then to Nevada, it was the casino capital of the world that delivered what most boxing fans appreciate- pure unadulterated action fights.

Monster Inoue immediately went to work as soon as the opening bell rang with a consistent attack on Cardenas, who very few people knew anything about.

One thing promised by Cardenas’ trainer Joel Diaz was that his fighter “can crack.”

Cardenas proved his trainer’s words truthful when he caught Inoue after a short violent exchange with a short left hook and down went the Japanese champion on his back. The crowd was shocked to its toes.

“I was very surprised,” said Inoue about getting dropped. ““In the first round, I felt I had good distance. It got loose in the second round. From then on, I made sure to not take that punch again.”

Inoue had no trouble getting up, but he did have trouble avoiding some of Cardenas massive blows delivered with evil intentions. Though Inoue did not go down again, a look of total astonishment blanketed his face.

A real fight was happening.

Cardenas, who resembles actor Andy Garcia, was never overly aggressive but kept that left hook of his cocked and ready to launch whenever he saw the moment. There were many moments against the hyper-aggressive Inoue.

Both fighters pack power and both looked to find the right moment. But after Inoue was knocked down by the left hook counter, he discovered a way to eliminate that weapon from Cardenas. Still, the Texas-based fighter had a strong right too.

In the sixth round Inoue opened up with one of his lightning combinations responsible for 10 consecutive knockout wins. Cardenas backed against the ropes and Inoue blasted away with blow after blow. Then suddenly, Cardenas turned Inoue around and had him on the ropes as the Mexican fighter unloaded nasty combinations to the body and head. Fans roared their approval.

“I dreamed about fighting in front of thousands of people in Las Vegas,” said Cardenas. “So, I came to give everything.”

Inoue looked a little surprised and had a slight Mona Lisa grin across his face. In the seventh round, the Japanese four-division world champion seemed ready to attack again full force and launched into the round guns blazing. Cardenas tried to catch Inoue again with counter left hooks but Inoue’s combos rained like deadly hail. Four consecutive rights by Inoue blasted Cardenas almost through the ropes. The referee Tom Taylor ruled it a knockdown. Cardenas beat the count and survived the round.

In the eighth round Inoue looked eager to attack and at the bell launched across the ring and unloaded more blows on Cardenas. A barrage of 14 unanswered blows forced the referee to stop the fight at 45 seconds of round eight for a technical knockout win.

“I knew he was tough,” said Inoue. “Boxing is not that easy.”

Espinoza Wins

WBO featherweight titlist Rafael Espinosa (27-0, 23 KOs) uppercut his way to a knockout win over Edward Vazquez (17-3, 4 KOs) in the seventh round.

“I wanted to fight a game fighter to show what I am capable,” said Espinoza.

Espinosa used the leverage of his six-foot, one-inch height to slice uppercuts under the guard of Vazquez. And when the tall Mexican from Guadalajara targeted the body, it was then that the Texas fighter began to wilt. But he never surrendered.

Though he connected against Espinoza in every round, he was not able to slow down the taller fighter and that allowed the Mexican fighter to unleash a 10-punch barrage including four consecutive uppercuts. The referee stopped the fight at 1:47 of the seventh round.

It was Espinoza’s third title defense.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Undercard Results and Recaps from the Inoue-Cardenas Show in Las Vegas

Published

4 days ago

May 4, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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The curtain was drawn on a busy boxing weekend tonight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas where the featured attraction was Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue appearing in his twenty-fifth world title fight.

The top two fights (Inoue vs. Roman Cardenas for the unified 122-pound crown and Rafael Espinoza vs. Edward Vazquez for the WBO world featherweight diadem) aired on the main ESPN platform with the preliminaries streaming on ESPN+.

The finale of the preliminaries was a 10-rounder between welterweights Rohan Polanco and Fabian Maidana. A 2020/21 Olympian for the Dominican Republic, Polanco was a solid favorite and showed why by pitching a shutout, punctuating his triumph by knocking Maidana to his knees late in the final round with a hard punch to the pit of the stomach.

Polanco improved to 16-0 (10). Argentina’s Maidana, the younger brother of former world title-holder Marcos Maidana, fell to 24-4 while maintaining his distinction of never being stopped.

Emiliano Vargas, a rising force in the 140-pound division with the potential to become a crossover star, advanced to 14-0 (12 KOs) with a second-round stoppage Juan Leon. Vargas, who turned 21 last month, is the son of former U.S. Olympian Fernando Vargas who had big money fights with the likes of Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya. Emiliano knocked Leon down hard twice in round two – both the result of right-left combinations — before Robert Hoyle waived it off.

A 28-year-old Spaniard, Leon was 11-2-1 heading in.

In his U.S. debut, 29-year-old Japanese southpaw Mikito Nakano (13-0, 12 KOs) turned in an Inoue-like performance with a fourth-round stoppage of Puerto Rico’s Pedro Medina. Nakano, a featherweight, had Medina on the canvas five times before referee Harvey Dock waived it off at the 1:58 mark of round four. The shell-shocked Medina (16-2) came into the contest riding a 15-fight winning streak.

Lynwood, California junior middleweight Art Barrera Jr, a 19-year-old protégé of Robert Garcia, scored a sixth-round stoppage of Chicago’s Juan Carlos Guerra. There were no knockdowns, but the bout had turned sharply in Barrera’s favor when referee Thomas Taylor intervened. The official time was 1:15 of round six.

Barrera improved to 9-0 (7 KOs). The spunky but outclassed Guerra, who upset Nico Ali Walsh in his previous outing, declined to 6-2-1.

In the lid-lifter, a 10-round featherweight affair, Muskegon Michigan’s Ra’eese Aleem improved to 22-1 (12) with a unanimous decision over LA’s hard-trying Rudy Garcia (13-2-1). The judges had it 99-01, 98-92, and 97-93.

Aleem, 34, was making his second start since June of 2023 when he lost a split decision in Australia to Sam Goodman with a date with Naoya Inoue hanging in the balance.

Check back shortly for David Avila’s recaps of the two world title fights.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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