Kazuto Ioka vs Joshua Franco: Betting Preview and Prediction

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The final fight of 2022 is just around the corner, with Kazuto Ioka taking on Joshua Franco on New Year’s Eve in a super flyweight unification bout.

Kazuto Ioka will be the home favourite, with the clash coming live from Tokyo, Japan. However, this should be a highly competitive fight and no walkover for the Japanese champion—Ioka holds the advantage in experience, while Franco has youth on his side and is no newbie to fighting at this level either. With the WBO World Super Flyweight and the WBA World Super Flyweight belts on the line, and a first defeat in four years for either of these men, this is not a fight to miss on the weekend.

We look at all the best bets to make ahead of this fight, with our betting preview and predictions.

Kazuto Ioka to Win Outright

Looking at the odds across most major bookmakers, it’s clear this will be a close fight. Here’s how bookmaker William hill has the fight less than 48 hours prior to these two stepping into the ring together:

• Kazuto Ioka @ 4/7 (1.57)
• Joshua Franco @ 11/8 (2.37)

This is about as close as it gets in boxing, indicating the high level these two have been competing at, and the fact that neither have lost since 2018. However, we say that the home favourite Kazuto Ioka will be too strong for Joshua Franco here, and are predicting he will come away victorious. Bottom line is, while both boxers are excellent, Ioka appears to be a cut above. The 33-year-old has won titles in four different weight classes, and is a once in a generation talent.

Ioka has never been comprehensively defeated, with both of his losses coming by split decision. We say this one will be close, but Ioka will walk away the victory and is a good bet at 4/7 (1.57).

Kazuto Ioka to Win By Knockout

While the majority of Ioka’s recent wins have been well crafted victories on points, the Japanese boxer has still won well over half of his fights by way of knockout. He has the power necessary to do so, and there should be plenty of opportunities as well in the back end of the fight as Franco will likely be looking to land significant strikes in search of his own knockout. The last time that Ioka scored a knockout, it was two years ago—on New Year’s Eve. Coincidence? We’ll see.

The odds for Ioka to win by knockout are far longer than by decision, which is marginally more than an Ioka win outright. For the conservative bet, take Ioka to win outright; for a high return bet, however, taking Ioka to win by knockout is a good punt at 7.00 (6/1).

Kazuto Ioka to Win in Round 10-12

All of Ioka’s last five knockouts have come in the second half of the fight. Of these, three have come in the final three rounds, with one in the 10^th and two in the 11^th rounds. It’s clear that Ioka has a knack for wearing his opponents down, then pouncing in the latter rounds to capitalize on fatigue, as well as defensive lapses that he’s observed. Franco is an excellent fighter who has only lost once in his career. However, that loss was by way of knockout, and it was deep into a fight—in the 9^th round against Lucas Leone in 2018.

There’s every chance that Ioka will whittle away at Franco and score a late knockout here, and with odds of 14/1 (15.00) for Ioka to win by knockout in rounds 10-12, this is a potentially lucrative bet.

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