Nietes Makes Historic Ioka-Tanaka Possible
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 31 Dec 2020
Nietes (L) and Ioka (R) during the weighin of their Dec. 2108 fight.
Tonight, Kosei Tanaka attempts to become only the fifth fighter to win world titles in a fourth weight class from the minimumweight when he battles fellow Japanese Kazuto Ioka who managed to become the first from Japan and the fourth to do so because of Donnie Ahas Nietes.
The final world title fight of 2020 will be held at the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo and evident of its international appeal, it will be streamed and aired live in the US through the TBS via iSakura, Europe through BoxNation and Latin America through ESPN and ESPN2.
The Ring Magazine also ran series of feature, including interview articles on the fight signifying its quality and historical significance as well as the remarkable ring accomplishments and growing popularity of both Ioka and Tanaka.
The Japanese are gaining on us as far as making headway into the US and international boxing market is concerned with Naoya Inoue and recently Hiroto Kyoguchi getting signed up by big, reputable promotional outfits as potential crossover stars.
Tanaka (L) and Ioka at Friday's weighin.
It is conceivable that the winner of this fight, especially if it will be the undefeated Tanaka would be the next to be signed up.
And any of the two should thank Nietes for making all these possible.
In a fit of magnanimity or out of desperation, early last year, Nietes chose to vacate the same WBO super flyweight title Ioka now holds which Nietes won December of 2018 by beating the same now celebrated Ioka.
Not wanting to meet fellow Pinoy Aston Palicte in defense of the crown after the two had much earlier fought to a draw for it when Inoue left it, and thinking that Palicte would have a big chance of winning it, Nietes decided to vacate the WBO title.
It was also a desperate ploy, ill conceived it turned out to be, to lure the division big names as Roman Gonzalez, Francisco Estrada and Srisaket Sor Rungvusai to fight him. They should have figured that he would have had better chances of luring any of them to a fight if he had a world title than merely a challenger. Oh well..
They grossly miscalculated and as a result, Ioka gained what Nietes willingly gave away scoring a technical knockout victory over Palicte in June 2019 in Japan.
Ioka thus became the first Japanese four weight division world champion and only the fourth to win four starting from the minimumweight class.
Now Tanaka is bidding to become the fastest to win world titles in four weight division, in only his 16th professional fight---few fights faster than Oscar de la Hoya who holds the current record when he won titles from super featherweight through welterweight in the 1990s.
For all that he had done, ironically Nietes was left holding an empty bag. And he is now back virtually to square one under a new promoter, MTK Global which promises to give him the chance to regain the WBO title---that is, if Ioka or Tanaka would oblige---and the fights he has been cherishing against Gonzalez et al.
Significantly, Nietes is among the only four fighters in boxing annals who have won world titles from minimumweight through the super flyweight.
The first to do it Leo Gamez who won world titles in the minimumweight, light flyweight, flyweight and super flyweight in the 1980s.
Roman Gonzalez duplicated the feat in the last decade collecting titles from 105 lbs to 115 lbs. with the WBC just a year or two ahead of Nietes who won his titles mostly with the WBO and one with the IBF (flyweight).
Ioka became the most recent to become four weight champion from minimumweight, winning the WBO super-flyweight title last year. He previously held the unified WBA and WBC mini-flyweight titles between 2011 and 2012, the WBA (Regular) light-flyweight title between 2012 and 2014, and the WBA flyweight title between 2015 and 2017.
Will Tanaka be the fifth?
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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