Tokyo Olympics 2021

Kosei Tanaka

Ismael Salas Passes COVID Protocols, Expects Ioka To Put on Spectacular Performance

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As we get ready to turn the calendar to 2021, Jose “Chon” Zepeda’s knockout victory over Ivan Baranchyk is the run away leader for 2020 Fight of the Year honors. Zepeda won via 5th round knockout in a wild fight in which both fighters scored four knockdowns.

However, most outlets have held off on announcing their winner because of the upcoming showdown pitting WBO super flyweight champion Kazuto Ioka (25-2) against current WBO flyweight champion Kosei Tanaka (15-0) that takes place on December 31st at the Ota-City Gymnasium in Tokyo. Ioka is a four-division champion while Tanaka would match that feat with a victory.

The fight is expected to be an all out war. Both men began their title runs in the 105 pound minimum weight division and most experts predict that their styles will mesh perfectly when they meet in the ring.

Ioka’s longtime trainer Ismael Salas tested positive for COVID-19 in late November in the United Kingdom while in quarantine for Joe Joyce’s fight against Daniel Dubois. The positive test naturally put his status in doubt for this upcoming Japanese super fight.  New Year’s Eve is traditionally a night loaded with championship bouts in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Salas arrived in the country two weeks and immediately entered a 14 day quarantine period.  He was officially cleared by the commission on Tuesday and will be in Ioka’s corner on fight night.

“I passed the PCR test and everything is good,” Salas told BoxingScene.com.

The world-class trainer kept in constant contact with Ioka while he was at his home base in Las Vegas and also during his time in quarantine in Japan. He expects his pupil to put on a spectacular performance.

“Ioka is in great shape like always and he is very focused. It is going to be a great fight because I know Tanaka is a great fighter. He is a three-time champion but hasn’t fought anyone at the level of Ioka. Tomorrow we will see if he is ready,” said Salas.

This will be Ioka’s first fight since his unanimous decision victory over Jeyvier Cintron last year on New Year’s Eve. Tanaka defeated Wulan Tuoluhazi by third round knockout on the same card.

Salas has already met up with Ioka and said that they are ready to go and just waiting for fight night.

“We are ready to go. Ioka did 105 rounds of sparring and I watched it all on FaceTime. In my 14 days in quarantine I checked everything and we were always in contact . My wife is Japanese so it makes the communication easier,” Salas stated.

“We have a great plan and now it is up to him to perform in the ring tomorrow. Kosei Tananka is very solid. He has great technique and lots of strong points but we are ready. Physically, tactically and mentally everything is good with Ioka. He has been with me since he was 10 or 11 years old and like always he is very serious and very focused.”

Send questions or comments to [email protected] You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ringsidewriter

Kosei Tanaka Expects “Unforgettable Fight” With Kazuto Ioka

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The fight is almost upon us, with hardcore followers of the sport getting excited with each passing day – as undefeated Kosei Tanaka will challenge four division world champion Kazuto Ioka on December 31, with the WBO super flyweight title at stake.

Tanaka, a four division champion himself, is expected fireworks from the opening bell.

“It will be an unforgettable fight on New Year’s Eve. I respect Ioka as a professional boxer, I think he’s cool. The fight will be challenging but I have confidence for the win. I didn’t change anything about my training to fight in the new division, I can perform my boxing at a high level,” Tanaka told Boxing News.

Two years ago, Tanaka fought in an absolute war of a fight to capture the WBO flyweight crown from Sho Kimura. The contest was viewed by many as the 2018 Fight of The Year.

The clash with Ioka has far more hype behind it, with many observers expecting a similar battle.

“I’ve always worried before my fights. That’s why I would train very hard and believed that’s the way to be stronger. The more pressure involved the stronger I felt I would become. The fight with Sho Kimura, the three-division champ, was the best. I had massive worry before that match, but I soaked up the pressure and gave it my very best shot,” Tanaka said.

“I think my fights are interesting to watch so I will try to increase the value of the lighter weight classes with a lot of achievements. You must fight with tough guys to become tougher. Sparring is fine, but the most important thing is the experience gained in real fights. I’ve been fighting because I want to be stronger. I believe my fans are looking forward to seeing tough matches, so that’s what I’m doing.”

Ioka-Tanaka U.S. Televised Options Continue To Look Bleak

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Yet another major New Year’s Eve boxing card from Japan will proceed without the backing of a major stateside platform.

Kazuto Ioka—the lone-ever Japanese male boxer to win titles in four weight-divisions—looks to prevent countryman Kosei Tanaka from matching that feat as they collide Thursday evening at Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo. The bout will be contested for Ioka’s junior bantamweight title, with the event airing live on TBS in Japan and on several other outlets throughout the world, including Fox Sports in Australia, Boxnation in the United Kingdom and ESPN2 Mexico—not to be confused with the United States version.

Unfortunately, boxing fans in the U.S. will have to be a bit more resourceful in order to tune in live for the final title fight of 2020.

Efforts were made by event handlers to secure stateside coverage in time for the fight, which will mark Ioka’s eighth career New Year’s Eve appearance. The issue is not limited to a lack of interest from U.S. platforms—although the 4:00 a.m. ET start time proves challenging—but rather the asking price to distribute the event far exceeding any potential return in picking up such a show.

The feeds for Boxnation and ESPN2 Mexico will pick up beginning with the main event, with any undercard bouts to be shown via tape-delay.

Absent the fight being carried live on YouTube or a social media platform not geo-blocked in the U.S., the best legal option for stateside fans will be to purchase through iSakura—a streaming service which carries up to 98 channels from Japan. First-time users have the option of purchasing a three-day trial, available for $3.00 for 98 channels and $2.50 for 48 channels, with both options carrying TBS.

A full breakdown of the service is provided by our friends at AsianBoxing.info.

Ioka and Tanaka have both been out of the ring since appearing on the same show in this very venue last New Year’s Eve. Ioka (25-2, 14KOs) turned away the challenge of unbeaten Jeyvier Cintron, scoring a 12-round unanimous decision to make the first defense of the belt he claimed in a 10th round knockout of Aston Palicte last June in Chiba, Japan.

Tanaka (15-0, 9KOs) made the final defense of his flyweight title with a 3rd round knockout of Wulan Tuolehazi in the evening’s chief support. The win marked the third successful defense of the belt he won in his 12th pro fight, a 12-round decision over Sho Kimura in Sept. 2018 to Vasiliy Lomachenko for the fastest to three divisional titles by a male boxer.

The win over Kimura and the 12 furiously paced rounds leading to that point was recognized by BoxingScene.com as 2018 Fight of the Year. A win on Thursday will leave Tanaka with the record for the quickest four-division titlist in boxing history, also strengthening his case to be included among any respectable Top 10 pound-for-pound list.

Ioka, 31, makes his ninth New Year’s Eve appearance in 10 years on the title stage, beginning with a 1st round knockout of then-unbeaten challenger Yogdoen CP Freshmart in Dec. 2011. The win marked the second defense of the strawweight title he claimed earlier that year in just his eighth pro fight.

The final strawweight title defense for Ioka came in a June 2012 unanimous decision over Akira Yaegashi in the first-ever unification bout between two reigning titlists from Japan. This Thursday will mark just the second time in Ioka’s incredible career where he enters a title fight versus another Japanese boxer.

Ioka is 8-1 overall on New Year’s Eve, all in title fights and the lone loss coming outside of Japan in a Dec. 2018 points loss to Donnie Nietes in their vacant 115-pound title fight. Tanaka is 3-0 on the year-end holiday, all in title fights and in separate weight divisions—strawweight in 2015, junior flyweight in 2016 and flyweight last year.

Stateside boxing fans wishing to purchase the iSakura streaming service in time to watch the fight are urged to do so in advance. Link to purchase a select package can be found here—iSakuraiptv.com/recharge/usd.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox