A title unification and year-end boxing tradition are both in jeopardy of not taking place.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that talks have dramatically stalled between the respective teams of Juan Francisco Estrada and Kazuto Ioka. More than a month after appearing to be on a collision course, the planned lineal, WBC and WBA junior bantamweight championship unification is now very unlikely to occur by year’s end, if ever at all.
Original plans called for the proposed fight to take place on December 31 in Tokyo, which would have marked the twelfth New Year’s Eve appearance for Japan’s Ioka (30-2-1, 15KOs).
However, the first sign of trouble came when Ioka’s camp revealed that the four-division titlist could very well fight in the U.S. for his next ring appearance. Additionally, it seemed unlikely that he would continue his tradition of headlining the final boxing show of the year.
Estrada (44-2, 28KOs) further fanned the flames of a potential collapse after meeting with the media earlier this week in his native Mexico. The two-division and reigning lineal and WBC junior bantamweight champion revealed that he was extremely dissatisfied with the purse offer, described as dismal compared to what he earned for his third fight versus Nicaraguan legend Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez (51-3, 41KOs).
Both boxers earned seven-figure paydays for their rubber match, won by Estrada via majority decision last December 3 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The reigning 115-pound king from Hermosillo, Mexico has not fought since then and is likely to not make his way back into the ring before year’s end. There was also mention of his possibly exploring the free agent market.
Ioka entered 2023 as the WBO titlist but was forced to vacate for failure to honor a mandatory title defense versus countryman Junto Nakatani. The four-division titlist instead opted to face Joshua Franco in a rematch to their twelve-round draw last New Year’s Eve in Japan.
Their sequel saw Ioka dominate the visiting San Antonio native over twelve-rounds to win the WBA title this past June 24 in Tokyo.
Boxing Scene has confirmed that there is not any truth to the very loose rumors of a possible Ioka-Chocolatito fight on New Year’s Eve.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox