‘SuperFly’ bout inspired Ioka to return to ring
He was retired — until he saw Arroyo win at the Forum. Now Ioka wants to beat Arroyo.
It’s nearly impossible for former three-division world champion Kazuto Ioka to venture out in public in Japan and go unnoticed.
On a February retirement vacation through Los Angeles and Las Vegas, however, Ioka relished the freedom of anonymity. He purchased his own ticket to the “SuperFly” fight card at the Forum box office and also made runs to the snack bar and the restroom without security.
“Nobody knew I was there,” said Ioka (22-1, 13 knockouts) through a Japanese interpreter.
What moved Ioka most was the attention being heaped upon the boxers near his weight class, and an undeniable tug to return convinced him “that I can fight in this platform, and I can fight any of these fighters.”
Ioka, 29, retired following his fifth World Boxing Assn. flyweight title defense in April 2017.
“Before I became a professional, I sat down with my family, many of whom are boxers, and made a goal to be a three-division champion because my uncle [Hiroki Ioka] was a two-division champion.
“At a young age I accomplished that goal, and even when I first got the third title I was already thinking about retirement, but I went on to defend the third title five times.”
Ioka watched Puerto Rico’s McWilliams Arroyo (17-3, 14 KOs) score a mild upset over Mexico’s former super-flyweight champion, Carlos Cuadras, at the Forum in February.
On the HBO-televised “SuperFly 3” from the Forum on Saturday, Ioka meets Arroyo with a slew of super-flyweight title opportunities in the offing for the 2019 version of the popular 115-pound fight series.
“I plan to be in ‘SuperFly’ as long as I can. I want to fight here,” Ioka said.
“This is like the major leagues for me and I want to be the first four-division champion in the long history of Japan. I plan to achieve that goal in the ‘SuperFly’ series and I want to battle champions.”
Ioka spoke two words in English during his interview — “no problem” — when asked about his ring rust, considering Arroyo, Puerto Rico’s 2008 Olympic flagbearer, looked so effective in defusing Cuadras’ fight plan six months ago.
“I’ve followed his career and have high respect for him,” Ioka said. “This a difficult fight, but I’ve trained well and I look forward to winning because of how I trained.”
Arroyo is pleased with the added strength of three pounds the super-flyweight division affords him, and after going 12 rounds against former four-division world champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez at the Forum in 2016, he eyes the Ioka bout as a test of his progress.
“I respect the sport. I’m up to fight anyone,” Arroyo said. “I’m really happy for this spotlight. I used to watch [countryman] Felix Trinidad on HBO. Me being there for a third time is huge.
“I know this will be a hard fight and it seems like I always come in as the underdog, but I’ll do my best. And I learned against Chocolatito. He was the best in the world when I fought him and I was 11⁄2 years between fights. Once I realized I was at this level, he was already winning. I showed him too much respect. This time will be different.”
Arroyo has the additional motivation, like worldchampion countrymen Jose Pedraza and Alberto Machado, to fight in the name of his home territory that is still reeling from the deaths of nearly 3,000 this year caused by Hurricane Maria.
The hurricane struck during training camp for the Cuadras fight. “It was terrifying, Arroyo recalled. “I had my boy at home who is turning 10 and my baby boy, and the winds were coming so hard, I said, ‘If the windows come off, we have to go to the bathroom and hide.’
“If it wasn’t for the Americans, we wouldn’t have electricity. … I am so appreciative for them. In Fajardo, where I work, I saw them working in the streets every morning. Now it motivates us to do the best we can in our fights, to make all of Puerto Ricans happy.”
The Ioka-Arroyo winner will be poised to fight the winner of Saturday’s main event between Juan Francisco Estrada and Felipe Orucuta should World Boxing Council super-flyweight Srisaket Sor Rungvisai vacate his belt and move to 118 pounds.
Meanwhile, three-division champion Donnie Nietes (41-1-4, 23 KOs) seeks a fourth belt on Saturday’s card when he meets Philippines countryman Aston Palicte (24-2, nine KOs).
Nietes, considered the second-most popular champion boxer behind Manny Pacquiao in his country, spent some time training for this bout at Pacquiao’s former training home, Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, where he met Pacquiao’s former cornerman Freddie Roach.
“I was very comfortable there and Freddie gave us some tips,” Nietes said.