Kazuto Ioka ended the year in style in Osaka, Japan. Ioka held on to his WBA light-flyweight belt by defeating Felix Alvarado of Nicaragua over the full distance. Ioka also kept his unbeaten record, moving to 14-0; 9KOs by out-fighting Alvarado, who suffered his first defeat as a professional in dropping to 18-1, with 15 wins inside the distance. The scores were 119-110, 119-109 and 115-113. Photos by Sumio Yamada/WBA

Ioka held the WBC and WBA minimumweight titles before moving up to light-flyweight to claim the WBA belt on December 31 last year. He stopped Jose Alfredo Rodriguez in the sixth round to take over the vacant title.