Tenshin Nasukawa and Takuma Inoue face off on Monday, November 24, live from Toyota Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The all-Japanese bout is set to crown a new WBC bantamweight champion, with the vacant title up for grabs after Junto Nakatani announced his move up in weight.
Former kickboxing champion Nasukawa (7-0, 2 KOs) makes his first bid to become a world boxing champion. The 27-year-old southpaw won two fights this year by decision against Victor Santillan and Jason Moloney.
Former champion Inoue (20-2, 5 KOs) aims to win one of the four major titles once again. The 29-year-old is coming off a defeat to Seiya Tsutsumi in October, when he lost his WBA bantamweight belt.
On the undercard, Japan’s Mikito Nakano (14-0, 13 KOs) and Raeese Aleem (22-1, 12 KOs) of Muskegon, Michigan, meet in an IBF featherweight title eliminator. A junior bantamweight bout pits Tomoya Tsuboi (2-0, 1 KO) of Japan against Mexico’s Carlos Cuadras (44-5-1, 28 KOs).
Another Japan vs Mexico matchup features Riku Masuda (8-1, 8 KOs) against Jose Miguel Calderon (14-2, 6 KOs) at bantamweight.
Nasukawa vs Inoue results
Get Nasukawa vs Inoue full fight card results below.
- Takuma Inoue def. Tenshin Nasukawa by unanimous decision (116-112, 116-112, 117-111) | Watch video
- Raeese Aleem def. Mikito Nakano by unanimous decision (115-112, 116-111, 118-109)
- Tomoya Tsuboi def. Carlos Cuadras by TKO (R8, 2:59)
- Riku Masuda def. Jose Miguel Calderon by technical majority decision (R5, 1:27, 49-46, 49-46, 48-48)*
- Keii Tamegai def. Kakeru Sawada by unanimous decision (40-36, 40-36, 40-36)
- Ryuga Sato def. Koji Kajiwara by TKO (R3, 0:58)
*Calderon suffered a cut over his right eye caused by a clash of heads
Nasukawa vs Inoue live blog
Video: Takuma Inoue vs Tenshin Nasukawa
Watch the highlights as Takuma Inoue defeats Tenshin Nasukawa to claim the vacant WBC bantamweight title and become a two-time world champion.
Takuma Inoue defeats Tenshin Nasukawa to claim title
Takuma Inoue (21-2, 5 KOs) defeats Tenshin Nasukawa (7-1, 2 KOs) by unanimous decision to claim the vacant WBC bantamweight title. The judges scored the fight 116-112, 116-112, and 117-111.
With the victory, 29-year-old Inoue bounces back from his defeat to Seiya Tsutsumi in October and becomes a two-time world champion.
27-year-old former kickboxing champion Nasukawa suffers his first defeat and falls short in his first attempt to become a world champion in boxing.
Raeese Aleem defeats Mikito Nakano by decision to win title eliminator
Raeese Aleem (23-1, 12 KOs) of Muskegon, Michigan, defeats Japan’s Mikito Nakano (14-1, 13 KOs) by unanimous decision to win an IBF featherweight title eliminator. After 12 rounds, the judges scored the fight 115-112, 116-111, and 118-109.
Tomoya Tsuboi TKOs Carlos Cuadras in eighth round
Tomoya Tsuboi (3-0, 2 KO) of Japan defeats Mexico’s Carlos Cuadras (44-6-1, 28 KOs) by eighth-round TKO at junior bantamweight. The referee jumped in to stop the fight at 2:59 of the round.
Riku Masuda defeats Jose Miguel Calderon by technical decision
In the telecast opener, Riku Masuda (9-1, 8 KOs) of Japan defeats Jose Miguel Calderon (14-3, 6 KOs) of Mexico by technical majority decision, with scores of 49-46, 49-46, and 48-48.
Calderon suffered a cut over his right eye from a clash of heads. The bantamweight bout was stopped at 1:27 of the fifth round.
Keii Tamegai defeats Kakeru Sawada by decision
Keii Tamegai (3-0-2) defeats Kakeru Sawada (3-4, 1 KO) by unanimous decision in a flyweight preliminary bout. After four rounds, all three judges scored the fight 40-36.
Ryuga Sato TKOs Koji Kajiwara in third round
Ryuga Sato (3-0-1, 3 KOs) defeats fellow Japanese fighter Koji Kajiwara (2-1, 2 KOs) by third-round TKO in the bantamweight preliminary bout. The official time was 58 seconds into the round.
Tenshin Nasukawa: Path of the Contender
As the action is about to begin, Top Rank has released Tenshin Nasukawa: Path of the Contender – a look at his journey, his greatest highlights, and his unstoppable rise.
Nasukawa vs Inoue: How to watch and start time
Nasukawa vs Inoue airs live on Top Rank Classics (available on Roku, Tubi, and Vizio). The start time in the U.S. is 3:30 a.m. ET / 12:30 a.m. PT.