Takuma Inoue vs. Tenshin Nasukawa 2: WBC Bantamweight Title Rematch

Takuma Inoue and Tenshin Nasukawa are going back to the scene of the crime.

On Sunday, Sept. 27, at Toyota Arena Tokyo, the WBC bantamweight champion Inoue will defend his belt in a rematch with Nasukawa, the former kickboxing prodigy he handed a first professional boxing defeat less than a year ago. Tokyo gets the sequel it demanded.

Their first meeting, last November, was supposed to be Nasukawa’s coronation. Instead, it became Inoue’s statement. Across 12 tense rounds for the vacant WBC bantamweight title, Inoue (22-2, 5 KOs) outlasted and outboxed the southpaw star, grinding out a hard decision and exposing just how steep the climb is from kickboxing royalty to elite boxing champion.

Inoue has not wasted the belt since. The younger brother of pound-for-pound king Naoya Inoue has already turned back Kazuto Ioka in his first defense, tightening his grip on a division that lives in the shadow of his sibling’s dominance.

Nasukawa (8-1, 3 KOs) could have disappeared after that first loss. He chose the opposite route. The 25-year-old punched his way straight back into the picture, blasting through former two-division champion Juan Francisco Estrada in a WBC eliminator in April to force this second shot at Inoue. The learning curve has been brutal. The response has been emphatic.

Now they run it back in the same city, with higher stakes and fewer questions.

Time, place, and how to watch

The show in Tokyo begins in the early hours for U.S. viewers. The card is scheduled to start at 3:30 a.m. ET, with ring walks for Inoue vs. Nasukawa 2 expected around 7 a.m. ET.

In the United States, the entire event streams live on DAZN. In Japan, the card airs on Prime Video, a reflection of just how big this domestic showdown has become.

The odds and the narrative

The bookmakers are siding with the champion again. U.S. sportsbooks list Takuma Inoue around a -260 favorite to retain his WBC bantamweight title, with Nasukawa sitting near +200 as the underdog.

That number tells its own story: respect for Nasukawa’s talent and improvement, but a clear belief that Inoue’s experience, timing, and ring craft still rule the matchup. Nasukawa has already proved he belongs at this level. Now he has to prove he can beat the man who set the ceiling on his first title bid.

A stacked Tokyo undercard

The main event headlines a card that could reshape multiple weight classes.

Former IBF bantamweight champion Ryosuke Nishida (11-1, 2 KOs) meets Sam Goodman (22-1, 8 KOs) in a high-stakes clash for the IBF interim super bantamweight title. It’s more than just a belt on the line. The winner moves to the front of the queue for a potential shot at undisputed champion Naoya Inoue, the division’s apex predator.

Lower down the scales, two more world titles are up for grabs.

• Undefeated Tomoya Tsuboi (3-0, 2 KOs) faces Ricardo Malajika (17-2, 12 KOs) for the vacant WBC super flyweight championship, a classic matchup of raw, fast-rising talent against a heavier-handed, more seasoned contender.
• Then comes a battle of unbeatens at strawweight: Ryusei Matsumoto (8-0, 4 KOs) takes on Russell Acosta (17-0, 13 KOs) for the WBO interim strawweight title. One of them leaves with a belt and a perfect record intact. The other leaves with a first loss and a long climb back.

Tokyo often stages nights that bend the sport’s future. With Takuma Inoue defending his crown, Tenshin Nasukawa chasing redemption, and a queue of contenders fighting for a shot at Naoya Inoue’s throne, this Sunday feels like another one of those nights.