A deal has been agreed to for the vacant junior bantamweight world title fight between Donnie Nietes and Kazuto Ioka, Tom Loeffler of 360 Promotions told ESPN on Tuesday night.
Loeffler, who recently signed Ioka, said that while the fight is not yet signed, he, TLAROCK (the management company that represents Ioka) and Nietes promoter Michael Aldeguer of ALA Promotions have a deal for the bout after several weeks of discussions.
The fight is slated to take place on Dec. 31 at the Wynn Palace resort in Macau, China. The New Year’s holiday is a traditional time for world title bouts in Asia.
Nietes (41-1-5, 23 KOs), 36, of the Philippines, is bidding to win a world title in a fourth weight division. He most recently fought to a draw with countryman Aston Palicte (24-2-1, 20 KOs) on Loeffler’s “Superfly 3” HBO-televised card on Sept. 8 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Palicte sought an immediate rematch, but the WBO denied his request and ordered Nietes to face Ioka for the vacant 115-pound title, mainly because the prevailing opinion was that Nietes deserved the victory.
Ioka (23-1, 13 KOs), 29, of Japan, is also seeking a world title in a fourth weight class. In his last fight, he ended a 17-month retirement and made his debut in the junior bantamweight division with a 10-round decision win over McWilliams Arroyo on the Nietes-Palicte undercard.