Takuma Inoue is once again a bantamweight champion, winning the vacant WBC title by hard-fought unanimous decision over Tenshin Nasukawa in Tokyo.
Inoue (21-2, 5 KO), spoke openly about considering retirement before accepting this fight. And, fighting for the first time in a year after a loss to Seiya Tsutsumi, he got off to a rough start. Tenshin (7-1, 2 KO) rattled him in each of the first two rounds, showing a very calm, patient approach, working his reach advantage from a comfortable distance.
And, yes, maybe even showboating a little bit during breaks in the action.
But Inoue found his rhythm in the 3rd, slowing Tenshin with a left hand to the body and finding a consistent path for the straight right hand to the head. It was well contested, but Inoue’s experience and precision largely carried the rest of the fight. Open scoring after the 8th round made it clear that Tenshin needed some knockdowns or an early finish to win, which changed his approach, but also gave us some great action, particularly at the start of the 11th round.
Tenshin couldn’t generate what he needed to win, and Inoue claims victory by official scores of 116-112, 116-112, and 117-111. It’s the first professional loss as a fighter for Tenshin, who was undefeated during a legendary kickboxing career before starting his pro boxing 7-0. And it’s a return to champion status for Inoue, who previously held the WBA belt and an interim version of the WBC title.
A triumph for Inoue, but a very respectable showing from Nasukawa in defeat. This is a sport that generally alternates between shredding people for building up slowly and avoiding challenging fights, or dismissing fighters completely for taking bold challenges and coming up short. Nasukawa took on a proven champion and a career boxer in just his 8th pro outing, and gave a fine, competitive performance. He wasn’t “exposed,” he just came up short in a difficult task, and hopefully the lessons from this fight help him realize his full potential in a long boxing career still to come.
Ra’eese Aleem UD-12 Mikito Nakano
This was a toss-up fight for most of the distance, until a late knockdown by Ra’eese Aleem (23-1, 12 KO) swung things clearly his way. Before then, more rounds were arguable than not, with Nakano (14-1, 13 KO) working off the front foot, but Aleem able to lead the action when he saw the opportunity.
Aleem suffered a cut over the eyebrow in the 8th round, but quality corner work settled it quickly. Aleem started gaining momentum in the latter half, and a right hand put Nakano down late in the 10th. Nakano needed a knockout to win, and went hard after it in the 12th, rattling Aleem more than once. But, Aleem held on, claiming the unanimous decision and handing Nakano his first pro defeat by official scores of 115-112, 116-111, and 118-109.
Tomoya Tsuboi TKO-8 Carlos Cuadras
Fast hands and a sharp jab working early for Tsuboi (3-0, 2 KO), who made Cuadras look slow and plodding, and had Cuadras’ face badly marked up before the midpoint of the fight. Cuadras (44-6-1, 28 KO) would occasionally show flashes of his prime form, but Tsuboi would punish him with dazzling hand speed. Most notably in the 7th, when Cuadras had his best sequence of the night, then immediately took what looked like a 12 punch combo in return.
Tsuboi stepped up his attack in the 8th, peppering Cuadras from rope to rope before the referee stepped in to end it just before the end of the round. A dominant performance from Tsuboi, and seemingly more a sign of his talent than a sudden decline on the part of Cuadras.
Riku Masuda MD-5 Jose Calderon
This one a Technical Decision after an ugly accidental clash of heads. A lively fight with impressive moments from both, but boxing authorities in Japan obviously and understandably taking no chances with things after the tragic show in August where two fighters died from brain injuries.
