The World Boxing Association (WBA) announced that four-division world champion Kazuto Ioka is moving to the bantamweight (53.5 kg) class to begin a new chapter in his pursuit of a world title in that weight class to strengthen his legacy in the world of boxing.
"I will move up to bantamweight and challenge for the five-division world title," Kazuto Ioka said on the WBA's official website, which was monitored in Jakarta on Sunday.
Kazuto once held world championship titles in four different divisions starting from the minimum class (47.6 kg) World Boxing Council (WBC), then light flyweight (48.9 kg), flyweight (50.8 kg) and super flyweight (52.1 kg) WBA.
The 36-year-old Japanese star lost his WBA title to Fernando Martinez in 2024 and lost in a rematch in May 2025.
