In Tokyo, fight fans witnessed a thrilling battle, only to have it ruined by scoring that makes you question if the judges were even watching the same fight. Argentina’s Fernando Martinez took a 12-round UD win over Japan’s Kazuto Ioka, with laughable scores of 120-108, 117-111, and 116-112.
Martinez, now 17-0 (9 KOs), holds the IBF and WBA super flyweight belts. Ioka, three years older at 35, is now 31-3-1 (16 KOs). His last defeat was in 2018, a close one against Donnie Nietes.
This battle was exciting and close from start to finish, a much-needed palate cleanser after last night’s dreary Shakur Stevenson event. But just like the ridiculous O’Shaquie Foster-Robson Conceicao decision on the Shakur card in Newark, fans are furious over another shameless judging debacle. The 120-108 card? That’s not just wrong—it’s criminal.
The 117-111 score wasn’t much better. This fight was a one or two-point win for Martinez at best. A draw would have been reasonable. Yet, instead of seeing the usual hometown bias, we got to witness international incompetence. Ioka, a respected veteran, might have lost by a point or two, but to say he was dominated? That’s a joke.
The fight itself was a barnburner. Martinez came out blazing, trying to exhaust the older Ioka. Both fighters got rocked in the opening round, setting the stage for a slugfest. Martinez landed a big right in the second round, and Ioka, typically strong on defense, was too easy to hit. But credit to Ioka for having a granite chin.
Martinez probably edged the first five rounds, though Ioka had his moments. By round six, Ioka was finding his groove, and by the 7th, he was outworking Martinez. The eighth was close, and by the ninth, Martinez looked gassed. Ioka was clearly taking rounds now.
Martinez finished strong, maybe enough to take the last two rounds.
It’s pathetic that such a great fight will be overshadowed by the judges’ incompetence. They had the best seats in the house and still managed to botch it spectacularly