Kazuto Ioka huye del peligroso Nakatani y dejará vacante su cinturón mundial para volver a pelear contra Franco
Daniel Pi
@BastionBoxeo
Perder ciertos combates, o incluso la mera posibilidad de perderlos, es más de lo que pueden soportar los egos de ciertos boxeadores. Por ello, en los últimos años hemos visto reacciones casi patológicas tras tropiezos cruciales para las carreras de algunos boxeadores renombrados y, mucho más frecuentemente, hemos visto también que bastantes peleas han sido negociadas y renegociadas una y otra vez hasta terminar cayendo en el olvido sin llegar a materializarse.
Para el japonés Kazuto Ioka, el duelo que no puede permitirse encarar por el riesgo que supone es enfrentarse a su compatriota Junto Nakatani. Y es que, a diferencia de la mayoría de sus anteriores rivales, Nakatani puede ser considerado sólido favorito para derrotarle e incluso tiene una buena opción de noquearle, siendo el retador un invicto, zurdo, ocho años más joven que ha brillado en su reinado en el peso mosca, que tiene ventaja en altura, alcance, pegada, ritmo, etc., y que está rindiendo a un nivel enteramente superior al suyo. Muestra de ello es que Nakatani derrotó solventemente a un “Chihuas” Rodríguez al que Ioka sólo venció por la mínima y con controversia.
De todos modos, aunque el Ioka-Nakatani era una pelea que podía haber llenado un gran estadio y que les habría garantizado a ambos enormes bolsas, y aunque este campeonato había sido ordenado por la WBO como defensa obligatoria del cinturón mundial supermosca que posee el primero, Ioka ha decidido huir del combate y no mirar atrás: en esta ocasión no se arriesgaba a perder contra un extranjero más o menos desconocido para el público nipón, sino que corría el riesgo de que su puesto como icono boxístico japonés le fuese arrebatado por un compatriota.
Ioka, que recordemos que dio positivo en control antidopaje pero que su caso fue tirado debajo de la alfombra con excusas patéticas, ha decidido dejar vacante su cinturón mundial WBO antes que tener que hacer frente a Nakatani, con el que deliberadamente ha bloqueado las conversaciones mientras negociaba una pelea de revancha ante Joshua Franco.
Efectivamente, como salir corriendo de Nakatani sería un revés grave para su prestigio, Ioka ha decidido poner como pretexto que quiere disipar la controversia de su último combate. No obstante, es justo preguntarse, si le importa tanto suprimir las polémicas y dar revanchas, cuál es la causa entonces de que no haya querido darles nuevas oportunidades a tantos otros boxeadores a los que derrotó con polémica o por un margen mínimo, habiendo sido Ioka durante años un boxeador sobreprotegido por los jueces con corruptas cartulinas.
En fin, el Ioka-Franco II no será un mal combate, pero los que ahora mismo lo están celebrando sin más están cayendo en la trampa de Ioka y su equipo, puesto que el duelo contra Nakatani era muchísimo más interesante, peligroso, lucrativo para ambos y significativo para la historia del boxeo japonés.
Kazuto Ioka ducks dangerous Junto Nakatani and will vacate his world belt to fight Joshua Franco again
Daniel Pi
@BastionBoxing
Losing certain fights, or even the mere possibility of losing them, is more than some boxers’ egos can take. For this reason, in recent years we have seen almost pathological reactions after crucial setbacks for the careers of some renowned boxers and, much more frequently, we have also seen that quite a few fights have been negotiated and renegotiated over and over again until they have ended up falling into oblivion without ever happening.
For the Japanese Kazuto Ioka, the duel that he could not afford to face due to the risk it entails is the one against his compatriot Junto Nakatani. Unlike most of his previous opponents, Nakatani could be considered a solid favorite to defeat him and even has a good chance of stopping him, the challenger being an undefeated southpaw eight years younger, who has shone in his reign in the flyweight division, who has an advantage in height, reach, punch, pace, etc., and who is performing at a level entirely superior to his. Proof of this is that Nakatani soundly defeated «Chihuas» Rodríguez, while Ioka only beat the Mexican by minimum difference and with controversy.
In any case, although the Ioka-Nakatani fight could have filled a big stadium and would have guaranteed them both huge purses, and although this championship had been ordered by the WBO as a mandatory defense of the world super flyweight belt held by the former, Ioka has decided to run away from the fight: this time he was not risking losing against a foreigner who was more or less unknown to the Japanese public, but was assuming the risk of having his position as a Japanese boxing icon taken from him by a compatriot.
Ioka, who tested positive in a doping test but had his case swept under the rug with pathetic excuses, has decided to vacate his WBO world belt rather than facing Nakatani, with whom he has deliberately blocked the talks while he was negotiating a rematch fight against Joshua Franco.
Indeed, as simply ducking Nakatani would be a blow to his reputation, Ioka has decided to use as a pretext that he wants to dispel the controversy of his last fight. However, it is fair to wonder, if suppressing controversies and giving rematches matters so much to him, what is the reason then why he has not wanted to give new opportunities to so many other boxers whom he defeated with controversy or by a very narrow margin, as for years Ioka has been a boxer overprotected by judges with corrupt scorecards.
In short, the Ioka-Franco II will not be a bad fight, but those who are just celebrating it right now are falling into the trap constructed by Ioka and his team, since the bout against Nakatani would have been much more interesting, dangerous, lucrative for both fighters and significant to the history of Japanese boxing.