is a Japanese former
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...
who competed from 1986 to 1999. He has held world championships in two
weight classes
Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports including Rowing (sport), rowing, Weightlifting#Weightlifting sports, weight lifting, and especi ...
, having held the
WBC mini-flyweight
Mini flyweight, also known as paperweight, minimumweight, strawweight, or super atomweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
In professional boxing, boxers in the minimumweight division may weigh no more than . This is a relatively new ...
title from 1987 to 1988, and the
WBA light-flyweight title from 1991 to 1992. He was the first ever WBC mini flyweight champion, winning the title immediately after the mini-flyweight division was created.
Biography
Ioka entered the Miwa Tsuda Gym (current Green Tsuda Gym) while attending middle school, and made his professional debut in 1986 at the age of 17. He won the Japanese
mini-flyweight
Mini flyweight, also known as paperweight, minimumweight, strawweight, or super atomweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
In professional boxing, boxers in the minimumweight division may weigh no more than . This is a relatively new ...
title in his eighth professional fight in 1987, and fought for the newly created
WBC mini-flyweight title the same year, winning by unanimous decision to become the youngest Japanese boxer to win a world title, at 18 years and 9 months old. This record remains unbroken today.
Ioka made his first defense against
IBF mini-flyweight champion Kyung-Yun Lee in January, 1988, winning by knockout in the 12th round.
Ioka's trainer,
Eddie Townsend, was in the hospital during the fight, and died shortly after hearing that Ioka had won. Ioka made his second defense in June, 1988, against
Napa Kiatwanchai
Napa Kiatwanchai (born July 27, 1967) is the former Lineal and WBC strawweight champion from Nakorn Rachasima (Korat) province, Thailand.
Career
He was born in a Thai-Chinese family in Nakhon Ratchasima and turned professional in 1987. He star ...
of
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, retaining his title by a 12-round draw. The fight was highly controversial, as Kiatwanchai's side claimed that the last round was ended almost 30 seconds early in order to make the fight a draw. Ioka had almost been knocked out by Kiatwanchai in the final round. Ioka was ordered to have a rematch with Kiatwanchai for his third defense in December, 1988, and lost his title by 12-round decision. Ioka fought Kiatwanchai again in June, 1989, for his former title, but lost again by TKO in the 11th round.
Ioka moved up to the
light flyweight division, and challenged undefeated champion
Myung-Woo Yuh, for the
WBA light-flyweight title in December, 1991. Ioka won a close split-decision victory, and defended his title twice in 1992. He met Yuh again in his third defense of the title in November, 1992, but lost by decision, losing his title.
Ioka moved up to the flyweight division in 1993, aiming to win titles in three weight classes, but lost to
David Griman in Round 8 of the WBA
flyweight
Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight.
Professional boxing
The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...
title match. He would challenge the WBA Flyweight title two more times, losing by TKO both times, and challenged WBA
super-flyweight
Super flyweight, also referred to as junior bantamweight, is a weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to .
History
The first title match in this division was in 1980, when the World Boxing Council responded to pressure from As ...
champion Satoshi Iida in April, 1998, losing by 12-round decision. In December of that year, Ioka lost a 10-round non-title match to an unranked fighter, and decided to retire from boxing. The unranked fighter was
Masamori Tokuyama, who would later defend the
WBC super-flyweight
Super flyweight, also referred to as junior bantamweight, is a weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to .
History
The first title match in this division was in 1980, when the World Boxing Council responded to pressure from As ...
title nine times. Ioka's career record was 33-8-1 (17KOs).
Post retirement
He currently trains and manages young fighters at the Ioka Boxing Gym (Ioka Promotions), and appears on local television shows from time to time.
In 2000, Ioka fought a 14-year-old Koki Kameda in a two-round exhibition match, which was broadcast as part of a television documentary on the Kameda family. Kameda was training at the Green Tsuda Gym at the time, where Ioka trained for much of his career. Kameda scored a knockdown on the former two division title holder from a left straight and right hook combination, but the referee ruled it as a slip. The fight ended up as a two-round draw decision. Kameda would go on to controversially win one of Ioka's former titles; the WBA light-flyweight title.
His nephew,
Kazuto Ioka, has won six amateur boxing titles, and is a
four-weight world champion, having held the
WBA and
WBC mini-flyweight
Mini flyweight, also known as paperweight, minimumweight, strawweight, or super atomweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
In professional boxing, boxers in the minimumweight division may weigh no more than . This is a relatively new ...
titles between 2011 and 2012, the
WBA light-flyweight title between 2012 and 2014, and the WBA flyweight title between 2015 and 2017. He currently holds the WBO super-flyweight title.
Professional boxing record
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%"
, -
!
!Result
!Record
!Opponent
!Type
!Round, time
!Date
!Location
!Notes
, - align=center
, 42
, Loss, , 33–8–1, , align=left,
Masamori Tokuyama
, TKO
, 5 (10),
, 1998–12–19
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 41
, Win, , 33–7–1, , align=left, Jerry Pahayahay
, PTS
, 10
, 1998–09–03
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 40
, Loss, , 32–7–1, , align=left, Satoshi Iida
, MD
, 12
, 1998–04–29
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 39
, Win, , 32–6–1, , align=left, Hidekazu Sakata
, TKO
, 9 (10),
, 1998–02–03
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 38
, Win, , 31–6–1, , align=left, Pinoy Montejo
, UD
, 10
, 1997–11–18
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 37
, Loss, , 30–6–1, , align=left,
José Bonilla
, TKO
, 7 (12),
, 1997–02–25
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 36
, Win, , 30–5–1, , align=left, Hiroki Shinozaki
,
, 4 (10),
, 1996–10–18
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 35
, Win, , 29–5–1, , align=left, Ricky Sales
, PTS
, 12
, 1996–06–03
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 34
, Win, , 28–5–1, , align=left, Joel Nice
, KO
, 2 (10),
, 1996–03–31
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 33
, Loss, , 27–5–1, , align=left,
Saen Sor Ploenchit
, TKO
, 10 (12),
,
1995–10–17
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 32
, Win, , 27–4–1, , align=left, Kim Dong-Soo
, TKO
, 4 (10),
, 1995–05–09
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 31
, Win, , 26–4–1, , align=left, Lee Escobido
, UD
, 10
, 1995–01–10
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 30
, Win
, 25–4–1
, align=left, Triffon Torralba
, KO
, 4 (10),
, 1994–06–27
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 29
, Win, , 24–4–1, , align=left, David Franco
, KO
, 5 (10),
, 1994–04–13
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 28
, Win, , 23–4–1, , align=left, John Medina
, TKO
, 6 (10),
, 1993–11–08
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 27
, Loss, , 22–4–1, , align=left,
David Griman
, TKO
, 8 (12),
, 1993–06–21
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 26
, Win, , 22–3–1, , align=left, Ronnie Romero
, KO
, 2 (10),
, 1993–01–29
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 25
, Loss, , 21–3–1, , align=left, Yuh Myung-Woo
, MD
, 12
, 1992–11–18
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 24
, Win, , 21–2–1, , align=left, Kim Bong-Jun
, UD
, 12
, 1992–06–15
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 23
, Win, , 20–2–1, , align=left, Noel Tunacao
, UD
, 12
, 1992–03–31
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 22
, Win, , 19–2–1, , align=left, Yuh Myung-Woo
, SD
, 12
, 1991–12–17
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 21
, Win, , 18–2–1, , align=left, Katsumi Komiyama
, KO
, 5 (10),
, 1991–06–27
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 20
, Win, , 17–2–1, , align=left, Kenji Tezuka
, PTS
, 10
, 1991–04–05
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 19
, Win, , 16–2–1, , align=left, Max Forrosuelo
, UD
, 10
, 1991–01–17
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 18
, Win, , 15–2–1, , align=left, Jaime Aliguin
, PTS
, 10
, 1990–11–24
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 17
, Win, , 14–2–1, , align=left, Salagchit Sorchitphatana
, UD
, 10
, 1990–07–16
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 16
, Win, , 13–2–1, , align=left, John Ireng
, KO
, 9 (10),
, 1990–04–09
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 15
, Win, , 12–2–1, , align=left, Udin Barahudin
, UD
, 10
, 1990–01–29
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 14
, Loss, , 11–2–1, , align=left,
Napa Kiatwanchai
Napa Kiatwanchai (born July 27, 1967) is the former Lineal and WBC strawweight champion from Nakorn Rachasima (Korat) province, Thailand.
Career
He was born in a Thai-Chinese family in Nakhon Ratchasima and turned professional in 1987. He star ...
, TKO
, 11 (12),
, 1989–06–10
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 13
, Win, , 11–1–1, , align=left, Hidekazu Kakehashi
, KO
, 2 (10),
, 1989–02–08
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 12
, Loss, , 10–1–1, , align=left,
Napa Kiatwanchai
Napa Kiatwanchai (born July 27, 1967) is the former Lineal and WBC strawweight champion from Nakorn Rachasima (Korat) province, Thailand.
Career
He was born in a Thai-Chinese family in Nakhon Ratchasima and turned professional in 1987. He star ...
, MD
, 12
, 1988–11–13
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 11
, style="background:#abcdef;", Draw, , 10–0–1, , align=left,
Napa Kiatwanchai
Napa Kiatwanchai (born July 27, 1967) is the former Lineal and WBC strawweight champion from Nakorn Rachasima (Korat) province, Thailand.
Career
He was born in a Thai-Chinese family in Nakhon Ratchasima and turned professional in 1987. He star ...
, PTS
, 12
, 1988–06–05
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 10
, Win, , 10–0, , align=left,
Kyung-Yung Lee
, TKO
, 12 (12),
, 1988–01–31
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 9
, Win, , 9–0, , align=left, Mai Thomburifarm
, UD
, 12
, 1987–10–18
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 8
, Win, , 8–0, , align=left, Kenji Ono
, PTS
, 10
, 1987–07–08
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 7
, Win, , 7–0, , align=left, Akira Kiyono
, PTS
, 8
, 1987–04–28
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 6
, Win, , 6–0, , align=left, Hisashi Nakatomi
, TKO
, 1 (6)
, 1987–02–22
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 5
, Win, , 5–0, , align=left, Dash Higashiho
, TKO
, 2 (4),
, 1986–10–07
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 4
, Win, , 4–0, , align=left, Masao Kasai
, PTS
, 4
, 1986–09–13
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 3
, Win, , 3–0, , align=left, Osamu Uemoto
, KO
, 2 (4),
, 1986–03–05
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 2
, Win, , 2–0, , align=left, Hiroshi Udo
, KO
, 2 (4),
, 1986–02–10
, align=left,
, align=left,
, - align=center
, 1
, Win, , 1–0, , align=left, Yukio Yorimochi
, KO
, 3 (4),
, 1986–01–23
, align=left,
, align=left,
See also
*
List of WBA world champions
This is a list of WBA world champions, showing every world champion certified by the World Boxing Association (WBA). The list also includes champions certified by the National Boxing Association (NBA), the predecessor to the WBA.
Boxers who won t ...
*
List of WBC world champions
This is a list of WBC world champions, showing every world champion certificated by the World Boxing Council (WBC). The WBC is one of the four major governing bodies in professional boxing, and certifies world champions in 18 different weight cla ...
*
List of Japanese boxing world champions
This is a list of Japanese boxing world champions who have won major world titles from the "Big four" Sports governing body, governing bodies in professional boxing namely the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Council (WBC), Internation ...
*
Boxing in Japan
The history of boxing in Japan began in 1854 when Matthew Perry landed at Shimoda, Shizuoka soon after the Convention of Kanagawa. At that time, American sailors often engaged in sparring matches on board their ships, with their fists wrapped i ...
References
External links
*
Ioka boxing gym official (Japanese)
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ioka, Hiroki
1969 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Sakai, Osaka
World Boxing Association champions
World Boxing Council champions
Mini-flyweight boxers
World mini-flyweight boxing champions
World light-flyweight boxing champions
Japanese male boxers
20th-century Japanese sportsmen