Japan's Kazuto Ioka and Joshua Franco of the United States fought to a draw in their world super flyweight boxing title unification match Saturday.
After 12 rounds of almost non-stop punching on New Year's Eve at Tokyo's Ota City General Gymnasium, two of the three judges scored the contest 114-114, while one favored World Boxing Association champion Franco 115-113.
Ioka retained his World Boxing Organization title for the sixth time but fell short of becoming the first Japanese to hold two belts in two different weight classes.
In June 2012, Ioka defeated compatriot Akira Yaegashi to unify the WBA and WBC minimum weight titles.
Franco ramped up the pressure late in the bout, but Ioka responded with solid punches of his own, with World Boxing Council super flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada of Mexico watching from ringside.
"I would like to apologize for being unable to live up to your expectations," the 33-year-old Ioka said to fans. "I thought I had an advantage midway through the contest. His technique and mental strength kept me from showing a clear difference."
Ioka, fighting on New Year's Eve for the 11th time, now has a 29-2 win-loss record with 15 knockouts and one draw. It was the third draw for Franco, 27, who is 18-1 with eight KOs and one no-contest.
