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Jun 20th, 2013. In the first ever All Japan World Title Unification Showdown, then undefeated 23 year old Kazuta Ioka clashed with 29 year old Akira Yaegashi in the Bodymaker Colosseum in Osaka, Japan.
The following world titles were on the line;
I) WBA World Minimumweight Championship (Yaegashi’s 1st defense)
II) WBC World Minimumweight Championship (Ioka’s 3rd defense)
Prefight records; Ioka 9(7)-0, Yaegashi 15(9)-2.
In October 2011, Yaegashi won the WBA World Minumumweight Title via TKO10 over Somporn Seeta and for his first defense he was set to take on the unbeaten Kazuta Ioka.
In February 2011, Ioka became the WBC World Minimumweight Champion with a TKO5 victory over Kittipong Jaigrajang and went on to make 2 successful defenses of the title in August and December 2011.
For his third defense, he was up against the gutsy Iwate-born Akira Yaegashi.
Entering the bout, Ioka had notable triumphs over Kittipong Jaigrajang & Juan Hernandez Navarrete while Yaegashi had commendable wins over top oppositions such as Norihito Tanaka, Somporn Seeta & Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.
It was a memorable blood and guts encounter for the 2 Japanese warriors; Yaegashi was the aggressor who pressed the action forward while Ioka fought and countered on his back foot for the most part.
In rounds 1 & 2, Yaegashi’s effective aggressiveness coupled with his experiences at top level competition got him the upper hand in the majority of the many exchanges initiated by both men.
In round 3, Ioka found his rhythm with his jabs which created openings for his counter rights. Yaegashi’s left eye was grotesquely swollen from a blinding right cross.
In rounds 4 & 5, both traded and connected at near equal measure.
In round 6, referee Yuki Fukuchi called timeout for the ringside physician to examine Yaegashi’s left eye. At this point, Ioka was evidently in better control of the action but they consistently traded at a furious pace.
Note: From this point on, Yaegashi was frequently checked by the ringside physician as per Fukuchi’s instructions.
In rounds 7 & 8, Yaegashi sensed the urgency as his left eye was closing shut thus he ramped up his offenses mostly to good effect but Ioka’s sharp jabs continued to serve in his favor.
In round 9, Both ripped each other with savage combinations to the body and head. Ioka’s best shot was a thudding left uppercut to the chin while Yaegashi’s was a hard right cross to the forehead.
In round 10, Ioka had the better of the exchanges but Yaegashi returned fire at a rapid rate in the final minute.
In the penultimate round, the intensity reached a momentary lull as both trod cautiously.
In the final round, Yaegashi wobbled Ioka with a salvo of lefts and rights. He proceeded to go for the kill but Ioka recovered to retaliate with his own fusillades of blows. They finished the last 3 minutes of this historic world title fight by leaving nothing on the table to the thunderous applause of the crowd.
After 36 minutes of a ferocious warfare, Kazuta Ioka became the Unified Minimumweight Champion via a razor slim UD12 with scores of 115-114 & 115-113 (2x).
In a 2021 interview with The Ring, Yaegashi stated that Ioka had the best jab & defense of any fighter he ever faced;
"Kazuto Ioka’s biggest asset was his jab. It was not easy to dodge his savvy jabs, which were hard to see due to a minimum motion and an unpredictable timing. Those were the best jabs that I ever experienced. I took many effective jabs that resulted in my badly swollen face."
"Kazuto Ioka was the toughest for me to land clean shots on. He was a fully equipped fighter at a very high level. He had everything you would expect a boxer to have."
Enjoy this highlight of SUNRISE SHOWDOWN where 2 ring warriors collided in an unforgettable battle.
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