Takuma Inoue retained his WBC bantamweight title against Tenshin Nasukawa by unanimous decision at Toyota Arena in Tokyo. The champion recovered from a seventh-round knockdown to secure his second successful defence, according to The Ring.
Two judges scored the rematch 116-111 for Inoue, while the third returned a much closer 114-113 card. Nasukawa’s knockdown and subsequent attack against the ropes briefly changed the contest, but Inoue regained control in the following rounds.
The Ring listed Inoue’s record at 23 wins and two defeats, with five knockouts, and Nasukawa’s at eight wins and two losses, including three knockout victories.
Inoue survives Nasukawa’s seventh-round attack
The WBC reported that Nasukawa put Inoue down with a powerful one-two combination in round seven. The challenger followed up by pressing the champion towards the ropes, with the governing body describing Inoue as unsteady and in danger of another knockdown.
The Ring’s account identified a left hand at the start of the round as the breakthrough. Nasukawa then attacked the body and forced Inoue backwards, although the champion remained in the fight and subsequently settled during the eighth.
That episode followed an opening spell in which Inoue’s movement and jab had caused Nasukawa problems. The Ring reported that the challenger initially boxed on the back foot and struggled to find his range, while Inoue used short combinations and timed his movement out of exchanges.
There had also been an earlier moment of dispute. Referee Michael Griffin did not award a knockdown in the second round when Nasukawa appeared to put Inoue on the floor; The Ring described the incident as a tangle of legs.
After the seventh-round pressure, Inoue worked with his right hand and jab at mid-to-long range, the WBC said. Its report credited that approach with limiting Nasukawa’s attacks as the champion recovered the advantage he had established earlier.
Nasukawa continued to close the distance and press forward. The WBC reported another strong left-handed combination from him in the 11th round, but said Inoue managed his earlier lead through the later stages.
The judges’ scorecards
| Judge | Score for Inoue |
|---|---|
| Nathan Palmer | 116-111 |
| Juan Carlos Pelayo | 116-111 |
| David Sutherland | 114-113 |
The cards show the differing margins in the judges’ assessments: Sutherland separated the boxers by one point, whereas Palmer and Pelayo each gave Inoue a five-point advantage. All three nevertheless reached the same verdict.
Inoue’s ability to recover after being knocked down was central to the reported sequence, rather than evidence of a comfortable defence. Nasukawa produced the bout’s clearest momentum shift, but the champion’s early scoring and subsequent recovery were sufficient to retain the belt.
Unification ambition and another title result
The WBC said Inoue was targeting a unification bout and ultimately undisputed status at bantamweight. That is the governing body’s account of his ambition following the successful defence.
The same Tokyo programme also produced a new champion in another division. South Africa’s Ricardo Malajika defeated Tomoya Tsuboi on points to take the vacant WBC super-flyweight title, according to the governing body’s account.
The WBC said Tsuboi drove the attack for much of their contest, while Malajika adopted a counter-punching approach and made use of his movement and reach. It reported that Malajika increased his work rate in the closing rounds.
The title had been vacated by Jesse Rodríguez following his move to bantamweight, the WBC said. Malajika’s win therefore filled a separate championship vacancy on a programme whose main event ended with Inoue keeping his existing belt.