Lifetime Boxing Fights 5: Ioka vs. Tanaka

The official Tapology discussion thread for the event!

Ioka vs. Tanaka
Kazuto Ioka, DEC
This is a GREAT fight!!!! It's like Loma vs Lopez, Canelo GGG, Joshua Fury! But because its at Flyweight nobody gives a ****!!! Kazuto Ioka is a 4 weight World Champion! Kosei Tanaka is a 3 weight World Champion!! I have both these guys in my top 20 P4P! IOKA is the reigning, defending Champion. Tanaka was the Flyweight Champ but vacated to move up and challenge Ioka for this Japanese Super Fight!!! It's 50/50. I'm slightly leaning Ioka because I love his body work and he's been at the weight whereas Tanaka may take time to adjust to the move up, but Tanaka is a highly skilled operator. Great fight! If you can I advise you to watch. Good news for UK Fight fans, Box Nation picked up the broadcast.

Higa vs. Kobayashi
Yuki Strong Kobayashi, DEC
Kobayashi is 1 of these Japanese boxers with a funky record that makes him look worse than he is. As I've said many times now, Japanese matchmaking is much different to the normal, no padded records here! So you get guys like Kobayashi who's 16-8 but is actually 1 of the very best Bantamweight in Japan, in all Asia actually, he is the Asia Pacific Champion. Don't write him off folks!!! Diago Higa is a strange 1. In around 2016/17 he was THE Japanese fighter to watch, kinda like Naoya Inoue is now, seriously he was knocking fools out for fun, he won every fight by KO, many were brutal!! Won the WBC World Title, at a lower weight than he's at now. He then missed weight massively, lost his Title on the scales then got destroyed in the fight vs fringe contender Cristofer Rosales. The Japanese commission doesn't mess about, they banned Higa for over a year (I think 18 months?) for his weight miss. He made his comeback earlier this year, smoked a jobber. His last fight was a bit concerning, he gassed hard and struggled to a draw with a 5-0 youngster. I don't know, I think I may have to go with the Champion here

Ioka vs. Tanaka
I have got Kosei Tanaka at -140. He has a brash right hand. Tanaka will likely prevent the underdog.

Higa vs. Kobayashi
I like Daigo Higa at -450. He has an egregious training style. Higa ought to prove the achievement. No question!

Okay so I was WAAAYYYYY wrong about Kobayashi having a chance vs Higa. Higa destroyed him with brutal uppercuts all fight til he folded him with a double right Uppercut combo! Leaving Kobayashi sprawled out on his back!

BBBBUT!!!!! I was fookin right about Kazuto Ioka whooping Tanaka!!! So my underdog streak in main Events continues!  What. A. Fight!!!! Both guys are as skilled as you'll see in all of boxing. Tanaka brought it, but Ioka had the experience and more importantly he identified the weakness that nobody else saw. For all Tanakas fantastic offence he leaves his right hand away from his chin. Ioka stood in the pocket and landed the counter!/check left hook so precisely. Dropped Tanaka 2x with that same shot until finally stopping Tanaka with another as the ref held him up.
What a fight for breakfast!!!!