Both champion Kazuto Ioka of Shisei Boxing Gym and sixth-ranked challenger Josber Perez of Venezuela tipped the scales at 52.0 kg at a Tokyo hotel on Dec. 30 and cleared the super flyweight limit of 52.16 kg (115 lbs), thereby setting the stage for their World Boxing Association flyweight title fight on Dec. 31.

  The scheduled 12-rounder at Tokyo’s Ota City General Gymnasium will be the 34-year-old Ioka’s first defense of the title he captured by decisioning Joshua Franco of the United States last June.

  If Ioka wins, it will be his 22^nd victory in world title fights, the most as a Japanese boxer.

Ioka has a record of 30 wins, including 15 knockouts, against two losses and a draw, while the 28-year-old Perez has a 20-3 win-loss tally with 18 KOs.