Franco took command from the start and banked most of the first half of the fight before Ioka rallied a little in the latter half but not enough for my tastes as I scored Franco a 116-112 winner.
Franco simply threw more punches and while I wouldn't say he overwhelmed Ioka with his output, Franco certainly had the advantage over the course of the fight.
Two judges scored the fight even at 114-114 with the dissenting judge giving the edge to Franco 115-113.
Ioka has been mandated to face former WBO flyweight champion Junto Nakatani in what could be a strong action fight but stated he would consider vacating his title in order to face Juan Francisco Estrada for his WBC brand in the division, which should also give fans a competitive bout.
Should Ioka vacate his title, Nakatani would face either Australia's Andrew Moloney, who has two losses against Joshua Franco, or countryman and multi-division champion Kosei Tanaka, who was beaten by Ioka by eighth round knockout in his only defeat in 2019.
My guess is that the WBO gives Japan what would be a huge fight there with Nakatani against Tanaka, while mandating that Moloney fight the victor.
As for Franco, I believe he is a promotional free agent and could go to Matchroom for an Estrada fight, that Estrads pulled away from earlier this year, or even to PBC for a potential unification against IBF champion Fernando Martinez, should a deal work out.
The final Boxing Challenge Standings for 2022
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