Who Won The Weekend: Sizzling Summer Start

The final boxing weekend in June is in the books. Before we look ahead to one of the hottest July boxing calendars in several years, the NY Fights and Friends team reviews this weekend’s action both in and out of the ring in our Who Won The Weekend: Hot Summer Fun edition. We’ve got winners, we’ve got losers, and we’ve got shots fired and shade thrown.

Bye Bye Berlanga?

Edgar Berlanga tags Jason Quigley during their fight on Saturday at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. Photo: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.

Ernie Green, writer: Top Rank, for having the foresight of letting Edgar Berlanga go when they did.  (Ed: Shots fired!)

Ioka and Franco Both Winners

Colin Morrison, UK Bureau Chief: Kazuto Ioka gets my vote this weekend. The veteran boxer, the only male from Japan to win titles in four weight classes, outpointed Joshua Franco to capture the WBA super flyweight title in Tokyo on Saturday. The fight was a rematch of a December 2022 draw between the combatants.

Kazuto Ioka showboating during the ninth round against Joshua Franco.

As Ioka’s legend in the sport continues to grow he remains humble and understated. “I’m glad I got the result,” Ioka said after the fight according to Kyodo News.

He continued, “I knew I had to keep throwing punches. Franco was as strong as last time, with a wide range of punches.”

One gets the feeling that even as Ioka was making these comments, his mind was beginning to focus on possible unification fights. One option would be a scrap with compatriot and WBO title holder Junto Nakatani.

Joshua Franco and his team in the ring post-fight. Franco announced his retirement at age 27 hours later. Photo: Courtesy Joshua Franco

Gayle Falkenthal, West Coast Bureau Chief: Joshua Franco won the weekend. A few hours after his loss to Ioka, Franco announced his retirement at age 27 via a Facebook post. “Last night in Tokyo, Japan was officially my last fight. It was a tough week for me and I didn’t get the result I wanted but I leave this sport knowing I gave it everything I had.”

Franco related his mental health struggles, saying he never spoke of them publicly because he didn’t want to use them as an excuse for poor performance. He thanked everyone from his family to his team at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy.

Kazuto Ioka and Joshua Franco at the conclusion of their fight. Photo: Finito Yamaguchi / Photo Finito

“I battled through it as much as I could to still perform and give you guys some great fights. For anyone that battles through any type of mental health issues please know you are not alone. And you can’t let anything stop you from achieving your dreams.” Franco is the former WBA Super Flyweight Champion and gave fans 23 exciting fights, ending with an 18-2-3 record.

Underdogs and Watchdogs

Joe Cusumano took it to veteran Adam Kownacki during their fight Saturday at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. Photo: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.

Michael Woods, editor/founder: Heavyweight Juiseppe “Joe” Cusumano won the weekend. Wasn’t invited to NY as the A side… but defeated Adam Kownacki in a fan-friendly rumble, got his career-best win. He’s 35, he’s persevered in the sport, props to him.

Mark Nelson stops the fight between Carlos Adames and Julian Williams Saturday. Photo: Esther Lin, Showtime Boxing

Ryan O’Hara, writer: American referees. I don’t want to hear the term British stoppage any longer because it’s clear our refs are no better. Tony Weeks and Mark Nelson are just a few examples. I would really hate to see this happen at Spence-Crawford, but would I be shocked? Nah.

Matthew Pomara, writer: “Iceman” John Scully won the weekend. He drew over 150 people to his reunion in Times Square. It included fans, former amateur champions, and professional champions. One of the stops was boxing’s spiritual home in NYC,  “Jimmy’s Corner.”

We leave you with this uplifting reunion 37 years in the making from Scully’s reunion tour this weekend. Farrod Pinchback and Tom Patti meet in Times Square for the first time since their fight in the 165-pound finals of the 1986 Empire State Games.

https://t.co/qtfEuCQh1J Farrod Pinchback and Tom Patti meet at amateur boxing reunion in Times Square yesterday for the first time since their fight in the 165lb finals of the 1986 Empire State Games!!!! @USABoxing @USABoxingAlumni @NYFights @USABOXINGMETRO1 @MikeTyson

— ICEMANJohnScully (@IceJohnScully) June 25, 2023