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The next chapter is officially set for the bantamweight division.
Tenshin Nasukawa and Takuma Inoue weighed just under the 118lbs limit for their upcoming vacant WBC title fight. Each boxer weighed 117.75lbs ahead of Monday’s showdown at the brand-new Toyota Arena in Tokyo.
The winner will claim one of two titles left behind by their countryman, three-division champion Junto Nakatani, 31-0 (24 KOs), who is now campaigning at junior featherweight.
Nasukawa, 7-0 (2 KOs), matched the lightest weight of his young pro career. He was also 117.75lbs in a 10-round unanimous decision victory over the Dominican Republic’s Victor Santillan on June 8 at nearby Ariake Colosseum. The show also saw Nakatani stop Ryosuke Nishida, 10-1 (2 KOs), after six rounds to unify the WBC and IBF 118lbs titles.
The vacant IBF belt will be at stake when Jose Salas faces Landile Ngxeke on December 13 in Mexico City.
By then, the WBC vacancy will ideally be filled, assuming a winner emerges on Monday.
Nasukawa enters his first major title fight less than three years into his pro career after establishing himself as one of the best kickboxers of all time. He was determined to prove his worth in the ring, as he hit the ground running with an aggressive schedule to emerge as a viable contender.
The most notable win to date for Nasukawa, a 27-year-old southpaw, came earlier this year when he outpointed former WBO 118lbs titlist Jason Moloney on February 22 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. The win took place just four months after Nasukawa went 10 rounds for the first time in a dominant victory over unbeaten Gerwin Asilo last October.
That same weekend marked the most recent fight for Inoue, 20-2 (5 KOs), a former WBA 118lbs titlist and the younger brother of four-division champion 122lbs champ Naoya Inoue.
Takuma Inoue has been out of the ring since a heartbreaking 12-round unanimous decision defeat against Seiya Tsutsumi last October 13, also at Ariake Arena. The setback ended his WBA title reign after 18 months and also saw Inoue snap a seven-fight win streak.
Injuries sustained from the bout kept Inoue out for much of 2025, and also forced him to pass on the opportunity to go the IBF route.
Monday’s show also features an IBF featherweight title elimination contest between Tokyo’s Mikito Nakano, 14-0 (13 KOs), and Ra’eese Aleem, 22-1 (12 KOs) – a Michigan native who lives and trains in Las Vegas. Both boxers weighed in at the 126lbs divisional limit for a fight to determine the next mandatory challenger for reigning IBF titlist Angelo Leo.
Elsewhere on the undercard, Tokyo’s Tomoya Tsuboi, 2-0 (1 KOs), will take an ambitious leap in competition as he faces Mexico City’s Carlos Cuadras, 44-5-1 (28 KOs), a former long-reigning WBC 115lbs titlist. Tsuboi clocked in at 114.5lbs, slightly heavier than the visiting Cuadras, who was 114.25 for their scheduled 10-round contest.
All three bouts will air live on U-Next in Japan and Top Rank Classics FAST channel (ROKU, Tubi, VIZIO and Pluto TV), beginning at 3 a.m. ET/5 p.m. JST.
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.
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