Aston Palicte and Kazuto Ioka will finally do battle for the WBO super flyweight title.
Roy Jones Jr. Boxing Promotions (RJJBP) announced that Palicte and Ioka will fight for the world title on June 19 at the Osaka Prefecture Gym in Osaka, Japan. The fight will be streamed on UFC Fight Pass which would make it the first boxing world title fight to be on the streaming service since UFC and RJJBP signed an exclusive broadcast deal months ago.
The title was previously held by Donnie Nietes, but Nietes vacated the title in February right before a purse bid with Palicte. As such, the WBO ordered Palicte, the mandatory challenger, and Ioka, the highest-ranked available contender, to fight for the now-vacant belt. Both men previously fought for the title within the past eight months, but they each failed in capturing the title.
Palicte fought for the title in September 2018, but his title bout against Nietes ended in a controversial draw. The title remained vacant and the WBO ordered Nietes to fight Ioka last December while Palicte had to fight Jose Martinez in a title eliminator back in January. Nietes would go on to defeat Ioka by split decision to become a four-division world champion. Weeks later, Palicte knocked out Martinez in the second round to become the No. 1 contender for the WBO title.
The deal between UFC and Roy Jones Jr. Boxing Promotions calls for the streaming service to broadcast up to 72 professional boxing events through 2021.
