The main event was as high level as it gets.
The Philippines have their third four division world titleholder thanks to Donnie Nietes’s (42-1-5, 23 KOs) highly competitive split decision win over previous top flyweight Kazuto Ioka (23-2, 13 KOs) on neutral Asian territory in China. The vacant WBO super flyweight title fight looked on paper to be one of the best that could be made in the lower weight classes and it delivered in the ring with excellent, extremely high level action throughout. There has been some issue raised with the decision, but I don’t see it.
Nietes fought the first half of the fight in largely in control with his flashier shots upstairs. Ioka was there landing back, especially to the body, but he wasn’t going to win many of these rounds on many cards eating so many obvious shots upstairs. Ioka largely flipped the script in the second half of the fight, however. He upped his work rate and showed an impressive ability to fight both in an out against his elite opponent. Nietes being 37 probably contributed to his slight second half slowdown as well.
In the end I scored this one a 114-114 draw with no issues with either man getting his hand raised. It was a great fight too. The official scores came back 116-112 Ioka overruled by the same score for Nietes and a head scratcher of a 118-110 in his favor as well. This is the card driving the controversy, but that is kind of dumb. The entire point of having the scores is to ignore a strange outlier. This is an example of the system working.
Also victorious on the show were Moruti Mthalane (37-2, 25 KOs) and Hiroto Kyoguchi (12-0, 9 KOs). Mthlane successfully defended his IBF flyweight title in a pretty one sided fight over frankly undeserving challenger Masahiro Sakamoto (13-2, 9 KOs). There isn’t much more to that one. Thankfully, 25 year old ascendant Japanese star Kyoguchi put on a thrilling performance with now former two division titleholder Hekkie Budler (32-4, 10 KOs). The fight was highly competitive and compelling early with both men landing telling blows back and forth. Hiroto asserted his youth and physical advantages in the second half of the fight, especially to the body. Budler seemed to fade badly on the basis of that work from the seventh round on. It was one sided by the time Budler and his corner decided to withdraw him from the fight, though not so much that I the rather abrupt finish coming. With the win WBA light flyweight title win Hiroto Kyoguchi is now a two division titleholder.
