News Tanaka moving up to face Ioka for title in 4th division

Called it.

 

Ioka was actually tested.

Tanaka won and moved up fast but hasnt really been tested


What a great ref. Tanaka was moving forward and takes 1 hit and the ref immediately knew to stop it, without letting him take additional blows

 

one round off!

 

genuinely one of the most underrated fighters today

 

You are on a roll man.
First you predicted Lopez decisioning Loman and now this.

Great fight guys. Heavy leather all rounds long and great timing, nerves and head movement from Ioka. Can't remember a better recent fight right now.

 

I thought the ref should've let Tanaka go down and gave him a count but I know I'm in the minority there. The stoppage does look good in retrospect considering Tanaka was completely out of it directly after the ref grabbed him, it was just a weird looking stoppage b/c Tanaka gets blasted but is still on his feet about to go down and the ref almost catches him in the air as he's about to drop. I know I am in the minority here like I said but I found the stoppage a bit odd. Whatever tho, not complaining too much, Tanaka was obv done so I guess it was a solid stoppage no matter how weird it looked.

Anyway I won my Ioka bet so I'm happy w/ the outcome. Ioka was a big step up and he showed why in this fight. Really fun fight here, definitely recommend for anyone who didn't see it. I fell asleep before I saw it live but it's worth watching after, no doubt. Tanaka still has a bright future and obv Ioka is in a great position after that performance.

One other thing I'd like to point out is that Daigo Higa is a fucking beast. What a performance by him against a tough guy in Strong Kobayashi. I didn't know a whole lot about him beforehand and I lost a bet on Kobayashi as the dog but wow did Higa impress the hell outta me w/ that fight.

Higa dominated and looked amazing doing it. Great hook to the body and paired that right uppercut with it. That was a thing of beauty. Deadly combo in this fight and a brutal fucking finish. Blasted the shit outta Kob's nose at the end there, man was down for several mins after. Look forward to more Higa after that fight. He's a guy who's made a big fan out of me w/ that style and performance. What a dog!

Congrats to Ioka and Higa. Tanaka and that big ass head of his will be back. Not a performance to be ashamed of by any means. Also, you should never mess with an Asian dude w/ cornrows. /rant

 

This really wasn't mentioned as much as it should have been in the lead up to this fight. It almost felt a little dismissive of the guy that was Tanaka before Tanaka was Tanaka. Just looking at the titlists (including interim titlists) they fought
Tanaka: Saludar, Acosta, Taguchi, Kimura and Fuentes
Ioka: Sithsamerchai, Hernandez, Yaegashi, Rodriguez, Sithmorseng, Alvarado, Perez, Ruenroeng, Reveco, Stamp and Nietes. On top of that he had actually fought and beat ranked 115 lbs opponents.

Pick apart the resumes all you want, it was pretty clear to me that Ioka has faced a lot of more and shown more looks and experienced more stylistic diversity.

 

https://www.ringtv.com/615952-a-qa-with-kosei-tanaka/

sounds like Tanaka talked about as much shit as you can in Japan without going into Kameda territory.

 

Ok I’ll shut up now but this was Ioka’a 9th NYE fight and Tanakas’s third. This had to feel personal for Ioka in some sense, like his pride wouldn’t be denied.

 

I actually do think that was a good stoppage from the ref. Tanaka was badly hurt and only going to take more. I don't know why I haven't been following Ioka's career.

 

I'm pretty sure his name just grew globally.
Alot of boxing YouTube videos today about the fight and his career.

 

dam my guy got yaegashi'd
I rocked an ioka sig for 7 years eversince he bodied oleydang and i just took it down this year facepalm

 

Where you at, Donnie?

 

Great interview.
Japanese boxers tend to be articulate and honest, giving interesting interviews.
Not like the gangsta robotic crap in the west.

 

that was a master clinic on one of best guys
like how ioka's knows how to use his power at the right time

he looks really technical and focused now (unlike before)

 

World class skills. His defense is amazing as well and his boxing IQ is off the charts.

It’s crazy how we have some westerners that are into all this Samurai and fake Ninja folklore and mythicism, searching long and hard for some niche “deadly” martial art that never existed.... yet there’s an actual real life Samurai by the name of Kazuto Ioka straight out of Japan that has straight mastered good old reliable boxing. He’s hugely popular in Japan, yet so damn unknown in the west.