By Nectalí Mora Zeledon, notifight.com

Japanese champion Kazuto Ioka has been invincible at home. Of the 13 fights on his record, nine by knockout and no defeats. They are going to clash on December 31st at the Colosseum Bodymaker in Osaka, Japan. Three of his last four fights ended before twelve rounds. But Nicaraguan challenger Felix Alvarado (18-0, 15KOs) is focused to stop Ioka and return home with the 108-pound championship of the World Boxing Association (WBA).

"We're looking for the knockout. We can not say what round it's going to happen, but we're going to have to find a way to knock him out, because that's going to be our opportunity to finish the fight," says Alvarado's trainer, Sergio González.

"We are sufficiently prepared to go the full distance, although we hope not [to go the distance]. We will do a job accordingly as the fight plays out with our opponent. Being outside of our country, you have to kill someone [to win] because everyone will be against us. We can not bet on getting a decision - unless it is clear. It is tough to win a decision when fighting outside of the country [against a hometown fighter]."