27 year old Joshua Franco nicknamed "El Professor" announced his retirement from boxing on his Instagram account after losing yesterday to Kazuto Yoki in Japan. His points loss came six months after their first fight ended in a draw.
World champion in four weight categories Kazuto Ioka (30-2-1, 15 KOs) won the WBA super flyweight belt by defeating the former champion Joshua Franco (18-2-3, 8 KOs) by unanimous decision in the main event on Saturday evening in Tokyo, Japan. Judges score: twice 116-112 and 115-113.
Joshua Franco lost his WBA super flyweight belt at the Tokyo weigh-ins when he failed to meet the 115 lb (52.1 kg) limit. First, Franco showed 55.2 kg on the scales, which is 3.1 kg more than the norm. Franco was given two hours to cut the weight, and after one hour and fifty minutes, he lost only 200 grams, showing his final weight of 55 kg. Contender and former WBO leader Kazuto Ioka showed on the scales 52 kg exactly from the first run. Thus, the difference in weight was at least 3 kg, but the fight will still take place as planned.
On June 24, Japan will host a rematch between Kazuto Yokoi (29-2-1, 15 KOs) and Joshua Franco (18-1-3, 8 KOs). Their first match took place in December and ended in a draw.
On June 15, Japan will host a rematch between Kazuto Yokoi (29-2-1, 15 KOs) and Joshua Franco (18-1-3, 8 KOs). The first fight of these boxers took place in December and ended in a draw.