Kazuto Ioka vs Josber Perez Prediction and Picks December 31

Kazuto Ioka vs Josber Perez Betting Preview

Kazuto Ioka and Josber Perez go head-to-head at Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo to box in a WBA super flyweight title on Sunday, December 31st as WagerTalk boxing handicapper Kevin Dolan gives his Kazuto Ioka vs Josber Perez prediction and picks with this main event set to start around 6:30am ET.

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Kazuto Ioka vs Josber Perez Betting Odds

Sunday, December 31	Boxing Betting Notes (Courtesy of Caesars)
Moneyline:	Kazuto Ioka -2400 vs Josber Perez +1220
Rounds:	N/A
Fight Time:	Main Event 6:30am ET / 3:30am PT
Arena:	Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan
TV:	N/A

Kazuto Ioka vs Josber Perez Betting Analysis

Kazuto Ioka, the WBA super flyweight champion, will look to defend his belt in the traditional New Year’s Eve showdown over in Japan as he takes on tough Venezuelan contender Josber Perez this weekend.

The Japanese fighter has been somewhat left in limbo over the last few months as talks against current Ring Magazine and WBC champion Juan Francisco Estrada continue to stall, with the ever-looming threat of Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez returning to the division to take on Estrada himself threatening to scupper Ioka’s plans.

No matter what happens down the line however, Ioka can’t afford to slip up here on Sunday against a fighter in Perez who’s looked a lot stronger since his move up to 115lb, with three straight knockouts since his unanimous decision loss against flyweight champion Artem Dalakian back in 2020.

Kazuto Ioka comes into this one as the substantial -2400 favorite, while Josber Perez comes back at a +1220.

Ioka Looking For One Last Legacy Defining Fight

At almost 35 years of age, Kazuto Ioka doesn’t have a whole lot of time sitting at the top of the heap in the super flyweight division, especially not with young and hungry sharks such as Jesse Rodriguez and Junto Nakatani circling the waters immediately beneath him.

That said, the former world champion at both 108lb and 112lb will most likely secure something big in the mid-portion of 2024 as he looks to close out his career on a high, but with talks continuing to stall against Juan Francisco Estrada, and the fact Ioka dropped his WBO belt to face Joshua Franco in a rematch rather than face the aforementioned Junto Nakatani in an all Japanese showdown earlier this year, it’ll be interesting to see which direction Ioka goes next year.

Perez Aims For More Success At Higher Weight

After losing his only foray into a world title fight so far against Artem Dalakian back in February of 2020, Josber Perez will look to make it second time lucky in Japan on New Year’s Eve against Kazuto Ioka.

With more weight, and arguably more power as a result, Perez will likely fancy his chances a lot more in this fight as while Dalakian frustrated him throughout with a solid left jab and kept moving away laterally, keeping him on the outside, Ioka often likes to trade in bursts in fights, an area Perez could potentially capitalize on.

Kazuto Ioka vs Josber Perez Expert Prediction

Kazuto Ioka is one of the most experienced champions in all of boxing currently, able to turn the tide in fights as he showed in the Joshua Franco rematch, and use his overall greater technical ability and ring savvy to his advantage.

However, what makes Ioka so versatile in the ring is his ability to stand on the inside and trade as well as box, and he employs one of the best body attacks in the entire division also, so Josber Perez’s chances of winning a decision on Sunday are slim at best.

Perez, while being a long way from Ioka technically, does bring a certain ‘X Factor’ to this fight where he can catch opponents off-guard from unorthodox angles with his power counters, something that could potentially catch Ioka unaware here as he looks ahead to mega fights down the road in 2024.

That said, the issue with Perez’s burst offense is that it leaves him very open to counters himself when initiating attacks, something that almost cost him dearly against Jose Farfan in his last fight, and that Dalakian didn’t have the power to take advantage of either.

Kazuto Ioka does have that power however, and while he’s by no means a murderous puncher in the ring, he showed in his fight against Kosei Tanaka for example that he has the ability to consistently make opponents pay with hard counters, a fact that will likely be amplified even more here against a fighter as reckless as Perez is.

Expect Ioka to get the stoppage in the mid-to-late rounds on Sunday against Perez.

Kazuto Ioka vs Josber Perez Prediction: Kazuto Ioka to Win in Rounds 5-8 (+135)

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