When is Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Takuma Inoue?
Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Takuma Inoue is on Monday, November 24. The broadcast will begin at 3:45 a.m. Eastern Time (8:45 a.m. GMT)
What channel is Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Takuma Inoue on?
Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Takuma Inoue will stream on the Top Rank Classics channel available on the Roku Channel, Tubi and Vizio apps.
Where is Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Takuma Inoue?
The fight is taking place at Toyota Arena Tokyo in Japan.
Who is Tenshin Nasukawa?
Tenshin Nasukawa, 7-0 (2 KOs), has become a bantamweight contender after previously being a kickboxing star in Japan. Among boxing fans, he was initially known for his first-round exhibition loss against Floyd Mayweather Jnr in 2018.
Nasukawa turned pro in earnest in 2023 and has progressed quickly. In Nasukawa’s past four fights, he took out contender Jonathan Rodriguez in three rounds and then added a trio of 10-round decisions to his ledger, defeating the 9-0 Gerwin Asilo, former bantamweight titleholder Jason Moloney and contender Victor Santillan.
That put the 27-year-old high up in all four sanctioning bodies’ rankings. Nasukawa ultimately chose to vie for the vacant WBC belt, which previously belonged to Junto Nakatani. A victory over Takuma Inoue would propel him toward the next phase of his career.
As a titleholder, Nasukawa could aim for the winner of the upcoming fight for the vacant IBF belt between Landile Ngxeke and Jose Salas Reyes, seek unification bouts against Antonio Vargas (WBA) and Christian Medina (WBO), or defend against a good slate of contenders, several of whom also hail from Japan. Among those vying for the throne are Daigo Higa, Kazuto Ioka, Riku Masuda (who is scheduled to appear on the undercard), Yoshiki Takei, the winner of next month’s Nonito Donaire-Seiya Tsutsumi bout, Katsumi Akitsugi, David Cuellar, Juan Francisco Estrada, Kenneth Llover, Michael Angeletti and Andrew Cain, among others.
Oh, and of course many wonder whether – or rather when – Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez will move up from 115lbs if he succeeds this Saturday against Fernando Martinez.
Who is Takuma Inoue?
Takuma Inoue, 20-2 (5 KOs), is a former bantamweight titleholder and the younger brother of pound-for-pound king Naoya.
Takuma’s first shot at a world title came In 2018, when he lost a decision to WBC beltholder Nordine Oubaali. He rebounded with a seven-fight winning streak, jumping up to 122lbs before dropping back to 118 in 2023 for his second title opportunity, outpointing Liborio Solis to pick up the WBA belt, one of four that had been left vacant after undisputed champ Naoya left for junior featherweight.
Takuma made two successful defenses – a ninth-round knockout of former 115-pound titleholder Jerwin Ancajas and a unanimous decision over Sho Ishida. But he lost in his third defense, dropping a decision to Seiya Tsutsumi in October 2024. That was the last time in the ring for Inoue, a 29-year-old from Yokohama.
What other fights are on the undercard of Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Takuma Inoue?
The undercard includes an elimination bout between Mikito Nakano, 14-0 (13 KOs), and Ra’eese Aleem, 22-1 (12 KOs), for the right to challenge IBF featherweight titleholder Angelo Leo. There is also a surprisingly early test for Tomoya Tsuboi, 2-0 (1 KO), who will take on Carlos Cuadras, 44-5-1 (28 KOs). Although Cuadras is 37 years old and past his best days, he’s won five straight since his 2022 loss to Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.
The full list of undercard fights can be seen on BoxRec.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
