An agreement in principle has been reached to stage the junior bantamweight title unification bout pitting Japan’s longtime champion Kazuto Ioka versus Argentina’s Fernando Martinez in Japan for the first week of July, an official connected to the negotiation told Boxing Scene on Thursday.

Martinez, 32, became IBF champion by defeating Jerwin Ancajas of the Philippines in 2022, a triumph he backed up with another unanimous decision victory eight months later.

Following a successful title defense by 11th-round TKO over Jade Bornea in June, Martinez (16-0, 9 KOs) landed the unification against decorated veteran Ioka (31-2-1, 16 KOs), a 35-year-old who wears the WBA super-flyweight belt.

The unification will come about a week after WBC junior bantamweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada is scheduled to defend his belt against flyweight champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez in Glendale, Arizona.

Japan’s Shisei Promotions will handle Ioka-Martinez. America’s TGB Promotions has Martinez in its stable. Three-division champion Ioka will participate in his 26th title fight after previously standing as a minimumweight and flyweight world titleholder. He has fought in 10 junior bantamweight title bouts since 2018, posting triumphs over the likes of McWilliams Arroyo, Donnie Nietes and Joshua Franco during the stretch.