The UK and Latin America have easy access, while American viewers will need to pay a few bucks extra.
2020’s last big fight also figures to be one of its best. This Thursday morning at 4:00 AM Eastern, 25-year-old Kosei Tanaka attempts to become a WBO four-division champion against countryman and current WBO Jr. Bantamweight World Champion Kazuto Ioka, who became the first male Japanese boxer to achieve the feat last year. The bout airs live on Japanese channel TBS, but luckily for us gaijin, there are a few ways to tune in.
USA: Unfortunately, no American network or streaming service has acquired broadcast rights at the time of writing. That doesn’t mean piracy is the only option, though: Asian Boxing has a guide on how to subscribe to iSakura, which allows access to TBS and other local channels. Conveniently, iSakura offers a three-day trial, which you don’t have to manually cancel afterwards, for $2.50. Just be sure to order by the end of the day; going by the website, it can take a while to process your payment.
UK: BoxNation has you covered.
🇯🇵 BoxNation are delighted to announce a New Years Eve showdown between Kazuto Ioka 🆚 Kosei Tanaka
⏰ #LIVE from Tokyo, Japan at 9AM
💥 WBO World Super Flyweight Title#IokaTanaka pic.twitter.com/1AcCKWlTDg— BoxNation (@boxnationtv) December 23, 2020
Latin America: ESPN KnockOut provided a handy country-by-country breakdown.
El 31 de diciembre la Nochevieja Japonesa 🎌 va 🔥EN VIVO🔥 por #ESPNKnockOut
🥊Ioka vs Tanaka (Mundial WBO supermosca)
🥊Kobayashi vs Higa (Título WBO Asia-Pacífico gallo)📺ESPN2
6:00 am 🇦🇷🇨🇱🇺🇾🇵🇾
5:00 am 🇧🇴🇻🇪
4:00 am 🇨🇴🇵🇪🇪🇨📺ESPN
5:00 am 🇩🇴
4:00 am 🇵🇦
3:00 am 🇲🇽🇳🇮🇬🇹🇸🇻🇨🇷🇭🇳 pic.twitter.com/E23hU6KoKq— ESPN KnockOut (@ESPNKnockOut) December 28, 2020
By Patrick L. Stumberg / BadLeftHook.com