Takuma Inoue Survives Seventh-Round Knockdown, Beats Nasukawa Again to Retain WBC Title
By Real Combat Media Boxing Editorial Staff
Tokyo, Japan, (September 27th, 2026)–Takuma Inoue, the younger brother of pound-for-pound star Naoya Inoue, needed to dig deeper than he did in their first meeting to beat Tenshin Nasukawa a second time, surviving a scary seventh-round knockdown to retain his WBC bantamweight title by unanimous decision at Toyota Arena.
How the Fight Went
Inoue (23-2, 5 KOs) controlled the first six rounds comfortably, finding a home for his right hand on the former kickboxing star’s chin and building a clear lead. Everything changed in round seven. Nasukawa (8-2, 3 KOs) landed a one-two that put Inoue down for the first time in the fight, then pressed hard for the stoppage, backing Inoue onto the ropes and unloading with both hands as Inoue fought to survive the round. Inoue made it to the bell still badly shaken, but he reset in the eighth and gradually took the fight back over, walking Nasukawa onto shots and doing his best work on the inside as the rounds wound down. Open scoring after round eight showed Inoue ahead on all three cards, meaning Nasukawa needed to sweep the final four rounds to take the title. He closed the gap but never found the finish he needed, and the judges scored it 116-111, 116-111, and 114-113 for Inoue, a repeat of his decision win in their first meeting last November. The result keeps Nasukawa’s hopes of eventually facing Naoya Inoue, with a win over Takuma long positioned as the gateway to that fight, on hold for now.
Full Fight Card Results
WBC Bantamweight Title (Main Event): Takuma Inoue (23-2, 5 KOs) def. Tenshin Nasukawa (8-2, 3 KOs) by unanimous decision (116-111, 116-111, 114-113)
IBF Interim Super Bantamweight Title: Sam Goodman (23-1) def. Ryosuke Nishida by unanimous decision (114-111, 115-110, 116-109)
WBC Super Flyweight Title (Vacant): Ricardo Malajika (18-2) def. Tomoya Tsuboi by split decision (116-112, 115-113, 113-115)
WBO Interim Minimumweight Title: Ryusei Matsumoto (9-0, 4 KOs) def. Russell Acosta Silveira (17-1, 6 KOs) by unanimous decision (118-110, 116-112, 115-113)
Featherweight: Natsuki Kuramochi def. Hayato Aiko by majority decision (40-36, 39-37, 38-38)
Watch
Full Card Highlights: Takuma Inoue vs. Tenshin Nasukawa 2
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