FOR the second time in a row, Aston Palicte failed in his bid for a world title, suffering a 10th-round technical knockout against Kazuto Ioka for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) super-flyweight championship on Wednesday night.
Ioka swarmed all over a fading Palicte when referee Kenny Chevalier called a halt to the fight held at the Messe Convention Center in Chiba, Japan.
The end came at the 1:46 mark of the 10th round, formally making the 30-year-old Ioka the first Japanese fighter to win titles in four weight divisions (minimumweight, light-flyweight, flyweight, super-flyweight).
Ioka improved his record to 23-2 with 14 KOs.
It was a sorry loss for the 28-year-old Palicte, who also fell short in his first attempt at a world title last September after being held to a split draw by compatriot Donnie ‘Ahas’ Nietes for the same WBO 115-lbs. title belt.
His current record stands at 25-3-1 with 21 KOs.
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