Joshua Franco is defending his WBA super-flyweight championship title for the fourth time overall, and the second time against Kazuto Ioka. The two met on New Year’s Eve last year, and the bout ended in a majority draw, with one of the judges scoring in Franco’s favor. On June 24, Ioka will get another shot
Joshua Franco vs. Kazuto Ioka II Odds, Time, and Prediction
Joshua Franco is defending his WBA super-flyweight championship title for the fourth time overall, and the second time against Kazuto Ioka. The two met on New Year’s Eve last year, and the bout ended in a majority draw, with one of the judges scoring in Franco’s favor. On June 24, Ioka will get another shot at the title, once again in front of his own crowd in Tokyo.
| Moneyline | Odds |
|---|---|
| Joshua Franco | -135 |
| Kazuto Ioka | +104 |
*Odds taken from bet365 on Friday, June 16, 2023.
Franco vs. Ioka 2: When & Where?
- Place: Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan
- Date: Saturday, June 24, 2023
- Time: ~7:30 AM ET
Joshua Franco Wanna Prove He’s the Best Super-Flyweight
Joshua Franco is 18-1-3-1 (wins-losses-draws-no contest) in his professional boxing career. He won the WBA super flyweight title in summer 2020 after beating Andrew Moloney by a unanimous decision.
The two met two more times and Franco defended his title each time – once by a unanimous decision and once after the fight was declared no contest, following an accidental clash of heads.
Then, it was time for his first fight against Kazuto Ioka. It happened on December 31, and we saw one hell of a bout. It lasted for 12 rounds, after which the judges got to cast their votes. Two of them scored a draw, while one judge went with Franco as the winner.
That said, the American pugilist definitely deserved to keep his championship belt. However, it’s a big question whether it’s going to remain in his possession after the Franco vs. Izuo II bout.
Kazuto Ioka Just Can’t Do Without a Championship Belt
In the Franco vs. Ioka 2 match, it’s the WBA super-flyweight title that’s at stake. However, in the first duel between Joshua Franco and Kazuto Ioka, two championship belts were in the game. The Japanese fighter put his WBO title at stake as well.
As the match ended in a draw, each fighter got to keep their title. However, Ioka decided to vacate his, as it was the only way to get to fight Franco again. This fact itself shows how confident the 34-year-old former champ is.
As suggested yesterday, Kazuto Ioka-Junto Nakatani mandatory title fight is off. Ioka will vacate WBO title in lieu of waiting out Feb. 28 purse bid, will instead challenge for Joshua Franco’s WBA title in rematch eyed for June. Yahoo! Japan first to report Ioka-Franco II. https://t.co/7DWyIxwKOz
— Jake Donovan (@JakeNDaBox) February 14, 2023
And he should be confident in his abilities! After all, Ioka is 29-2-1 (wins-losses-draws), and before vacating his WBA super-flyweight title, he was in possession of the belt for three and a half years. Before that, he had the WBC Silver super-flyweight title, as well as the WBA flyweight title.
Actually, this guy was in possession of a championship belt continuously from April 2015 until a few months ago.
Franco vs. Ioka II Prediction
Ahead of the first duel between Joshua Franco and Kazuto Ioka, the Japanese boxer was a -189 favorite. The bout ended in a somewhat controversial draw, with one of the judges scoring in favor of Franco. The American’s good performance in that match is what’s caused the Franco vs. Ioka 2 odds to shift (slightly) in his favor.
Franco is the favorite in bookies’ eyes, but we think they’re wrong. Ioka has learned his lesson over the last six months, and he’s going to do things differently on June 24. He’s already great defensively, but now we’re gonna see him be way more aggressive than the last time. And that should be enough to win over the judges this time.
Pick: Kazuto Ioka to win
