Inoue and Tsutsumi. (Photo by Naoki Fukuda)
All eight title fight participants did their job at the scale.
Takuma Inoue is set for the third defense of his WBA bantamweight title. He will face countryman Seiya Tsutsumi atop Saturday’s quadrupleheader from Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Inoue weighed right at the 118-pound limit, while Tsutsumi was 117 3/4 pounds for his first career title challenge.
Their scheduled twelve-round bout will air live on ESPN+.
Inoue (20-1, 5 KOs) claimed the WBA 118-pound title last April. He was the first benefactor following the divisional departure of older brother and now four-division champion Naoya Inoue, who vacated all four bantamweight titles.
Takuma Inoue has slowly carved out his own name. The Ring’s No. 3-rated bantamweight impressed in a ninth-round knockout of former 115-pound titlist Jerwin Ancajas on Feb. 24 at Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo. He then returned just ten weeks later to join Naoya on the May 6 show at Tokyo Dome. His appearance resulted in a twelve-round win over countryman Sho Ishida.
Tsutsumi (11-0-2, 8 KOs) challenges for his first major title. It comes in the midst of a remarkable career rebound following in-ring tragedy.
While his record is perfect, Tsutsumi was forced to take in the damage inflicted upon Kazuki Anaguchi. Their brutal ten-round slugfest last Dec. 26 was won by Tsutsumi via unanimous decision. Anaguchi never recovered from brain injuries sustained in the bout and passed away in February.
Tsutsumi bravely moved forward with his career. He scored a fourth-round knockout of Weerawat Noolae on July 7 at Kokugikan.
In the co-feature, former RING junior flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji aims to become a two-division titlist. His attempt comes versus former flyweight titlist Cristofer Rosales for the vacant WBC flyweight title fight.
Teraji (23-1, 14 KOs) was 111 3/4 pounds, while Nicaragua’s Rosales (36-7, 22 KOs) was right at 112 pounds.
Teraji enjoyed two separate WBC 108-pound title reigns. The 32-year-old from Kyoto, Japan became The Ring and unified WBC/WBA champ in Nov. 2022 after a seventh-round knockout of unbeaten countryman Hiroto Kyoguchi.
His final defense came in a Fight of the Year-level majority decision win over Carlos Canizales (27-2-1, 19 KOs) on Jan. 23 in Osaka. Teraji ran his record ro 14-1 (9 KOs) in major title fights.
Nicaragua’s Rosales (36-7, 22 KOs) previously held the very title at stake in his bout. He claimed the title in Japan, when he defeated Daigo Higa in April 2018. Just one defense followed before he lost to Charlie Edwards later that December. A second title bid saw Rosales suffer a ninth-round knockout to Julio Cesar Martinez in Dec. 2019.
Rosales has won five straight since a questionable defeat to Angel Ayala in their April 2022 IBF title eliminator.
Other weights:
- Okayama’s Seigo Yuri Akui (20-2-1, 11 KOs) and Thailand’s Thananchai Charunphak (25-1, 15 KOs) both weighed 112 pounds. Akui defends his WBA flyweight title
- Tokyo’s Shokichi Iwata (13-1, 10 KOs) and Spain’s Jairo Noriega (14-0, 3 KOs) were both 108 pounds for their vacant WBO junior flyweight title fight.
