WBO Announces Purse Bid Ceremony for Kazuto Ioka vs Junto Nakatani
The anticipated super flyweight showdown between Japan’s WBO champion Kazuto Ioka (29-2-1, 15KO) and former WBO flyweight champion Junto Nakatani (24-0, 18KO) will be going to a purse bid.
THE WBO HAS TO ORDER A PURSE BID
On January 10, the WBO ordered negotiations to begin for a contest featuring the champion and mandatory challenger, Nakatani. Furthermore, the organization had given them 30 days to reach an agreement, or a purse bid would be ordered. The time to reach an agreement has expired, prompting the sanctioning body to step in with a purse bid notice.
“Having the time frame provided by this Committee elapsed without an agreement reached, we are hereby ordering a purse bid ceremony to be conducted.”
THE PATH OF TWO FIGHTERS
Nakatani became the mandatory challenger after moving up from the flyweight division, where he was the champion. The 25 year-old has been a force since entering the professional ranks. He captured the attention of several fans after the four-round destruction of former light flyweight champion Angel Acosta in 2021. In his last outing, Nakatani cruised to an easy victory over Francisco Rodriguez Jr in November 2022.
Ioka is the division’s longest reigning champion having won the vacant title by defeating Aston Palicte in 2019. The WBO champion has defeated some top names in the divisions such as former champions Juan Carlos Reveco, Kosei Tanaka, and Donnie Nietes.
On December 31, 2022, he failed in becoming a unified champion after getting a draw against WBA champion Joshua Franco with a lackluster performance.
Both teams still have time to reach an agreement before the purse bid date of February 23. 3kingsboxing.com will continue to monitor this situation for any further news.
