FERNANDO Martinez travelled to Japan for the second time in a year to defeat 115-pound rival Kazuto Ioka by unanimous decision after 12 thrilling rounds. The judges handed in scores of 115-112, 114-113 and 117-110 in favour of the retaining WBA super-flyweight champion. Robert Hoyle’s total, awarding just two rounds to Ioka (accounting for a knockdown), was wide of the mark.
The bout started out at a ferocious pace, similar to their first fight. Ioka searched for openings to head and body to land his vaunted left hook. The Japanese favourite shipped a number of flush head shots at the close of the second round, especially from Martinez’s overhand right.
ESPN Knockout commentary had Martinez 30-27 ahead after three rounds on their unofficial scorecard. For all of Ioka’s endeavour, this lopsided assessment was fair. Martinez was doing a good job timing the left hand before responding with a right hand. Ioka swayed out of range in the fifth to avoid the same shot. The veteran was learning.
The sixth was another gruelling three minutes, as Ioka, 31-4-1 (16 KOs), received a concerning number of headshots. He responded with a body assault, and Martinez took a deserved breather, banking another round.
The heads were dangerously close to clashing in the seventh round as Ioka followed up with a jaw-snapping left hook. Martinez led 68-65 through seven on the ESPN reckoning. Remarkably, Ioka was still pitching from the front foot, pushing the Argentine ‘Puma’ back. Martinez, 18-0 (9 KOs), showed signs of feeling the body shots in the ninth.
Martinez suddenly looked tired in the 10th as a brawl broke out. It was a display of phenomenal workrate and resolve from Ioka to still maintain this kind of output. Martinez walked on to a left hook in that round that sent him down for a count.
The momentum was swinging, but Ioka had run out of time on two of the cards at least. The pair went head down, toe to toe in the final 20 seconds. Martinez emerged as the victor, leaving a shoot-out with Jesse Rodriguez as the only next logical step should ‘Bam’ get past his next challenge on July 19.
