The challenger to the World Boxing Association (WBA) super flyweight world title, Japanese Kazuto Ioka, trained before the press on Monday prior to his bout against champion Joshua Franco next weekend at the Ota-City General Gymnasium, in the Japanese capital. 

Along with his trainer Ismael Salas and the rest of his team, Ioka appeared before the journalists and photographers present in a training session that served as scenario for showing off his form and, at the same time, talking a little with those present and giving his impressions ahead of the fight this Saturday, June 24. 

Ioka will have a rematch against Franco after their year-end 2022 fight ended in a draw. Now, six months later, they meet again and the home fighter wants to win the black and gold belt, a difficult task considering the quality of the champion.

The 34-year-old veteran kicks off this great week, in which there will be other promotional activities leading up to the fight. Next Friday will be the official weigh-in, the most important pre-event of the week, in which both must weigh 115 pounds or less to be eligible for the fight.