Fight announcement: Kazuto Ioka vs. Donnie Nietes rematch

WBO Junior Bantamweight Champion Kazuto Ioka will make his fifth title defense against Donnie Nietes on July 13th. This will be a rematch of their 2018 world title bout, which was won by the 40-year-old Filipino.

Probellum confirmed that the Nietes-Ioka rematch will finally materialize at the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan. Richard Schaefer's Probellum is the promoter of Nietes.

Nietes, popularly known as 'Ahas' (Snake), first won the WBO Title against Ioka on December 31, 2018. The Negros Occidental province native scored a split decision win against the Japanese.

The four-division world boxing champion later relinquished the belt and didn’t fight for 28 months following the close victory. This allowed Ioka to win it against another Filipino boxer, Aston Palicte, in June 2019.

Since then, Ioka has successfully defended his title four times, including wins against compatriot Ryoji Fukunaga and Mexican Francisco Rodriguez Jr.

---

Donnie Nietes eager to reclaim WBO title

Donnie Nietes is looking to add another stellar chapter to his historic boxing career as he looks to reclaim his WBO World Junior Bantamweight Title next month.

In a press statement released by Probellum, Nietes was quoted as saying:

"This was the fight I wanted the most and I am incredibly eager to win back my world title. I have been in training since February for this fight but I really stepped up my levels when I knew it was confirmed."

He went on:

"This rematch makes me excited and when I vacated the title in 2018 it was always in my mind that I would, one day, win it back. On July 13, that dream will become a reality."

Nietes (43-1-6, 23 KOs) also collected titles in the minimumweight, light flyweight, flyweight and super flyweight divisions.

Watch the full fight highlights of Nietes vs. Ioka: