Takuma Inoue Climbs Off the Canvas to Beat Tenshin Nasukawa Again and Keep WBC Bantamweight Title

Takuma Inoue was dropped by Tenshin Nasukawa in the seventh round of their rematch at Toyota Arena in Tokyo on Sunday, 27 September 2026, then rallied over the closing rounds to keep his WBC bantamweight title on a unanimous decision. It was the second time in ten months that Inoue had turned back the former kickboxing star with the same belt on the line.

Three Cards, One Winner

All three judges sided with the champion, though not by the same margin. Nathan Palmer and Juan Carlos Pelayo each returned 116-111, while David Sutherland had it far tighter at 114-113. The split between the wider cards and Sutherland's one-point verdict reflects how much the knockdown weighed in a fight that otherwise drifted toward Inoue in its second half.

The victory lifted Inoue to 23-2 with five knockouts, according to fight reports from Boxing Insider and BoxingNews. Nasukawa slipped to 8-2 with three knockouts, both of his professional defeats now coming against the same man.

The Seventh Round Scare

The fight's sharpest moment came early in the seventh. Nasukawa, a southpaw, caught Inoue with a clean left hand and put him on the floor, then trapped him against the ropes and threw to the body and head looking for a finish. Inoue stayed upright through the follow-up, and the round was scored 10-8 rather than ending the night.

Afterward Inoue played the moment down, describing it as a flash knockdown caused by a brief lapse rather than real damage. Reflecting on the fight as a whole, he told reporters, as quoted by Boxing Insider: "The feeling of absolutely not wanting to lose. I fought to the end with that."

How Inoue Took the Late Rounds

From the eighth round onward the pattern shifted. Inoue came forward and worked at mid-range, an area where Nasukawa looked uncomfortable moving backward. Reports describe the champion taking control down the stretch, which helped him bank the rounds he needed to offset the 10-8 deficit and secure the decision.

A Rivalry Built in Ten Months

The two first met on 24 November 2025, also at Toyota Arena, with the WBC title vacant. Inoue won that night by unanimous decision on scores of 116-112, 116-112 and 117-111, absorbing some trouble in the opening two rounds before settling in behind body work and his right hand. It handed Nasukawa his first loss as a professional boxer.

Both men stayed busy before the rematch. Inoue made his first defence at the Tokyo Dome on 2 May 2026, putting Kazuto Ioka down twice on the way to a unanimous decision. Nasukawa, meanwhile, earned his way back into a title shot on 11 April 2026 at Ryogoku Kokugikan, where former champion Juan Francisco Estrada retired after the ninth round in a bout that decided the WBC mandatory challenger. The Ring described that win as a ninth-round stoppage; Wikipedia records it as a retirement at the end of the ninth.

The rematch was set for 27 September at a press event in Shinjuku. Speaking to The Ring in July, Nasukawa framed the stakes bluntly, saying that losing to the same opponent twice would leave him with little hope. Inoue, for his part, promised a stoppage. In the end the champion had to settle for the scorecards.

From Kickboxing Phenomenon to Title Challenger

Nasukawa, born in 1998, built his name in kickboxing, where he finished undefeated at 42-0. His most widely seen night before boxing was the December 2018 exhibition against Floyd Mayweather Jr. at Rizin 14, which ended in the first round after Nasukawa was knocked down three times. He made his professional boxing debut on 8 April 2023 at Ariake Arena, winning a six-round decision, and reached world-title level in fewer than ten fights.

Inoue, born in December 1995, is the younger brother of Naoya Inoue. His path to this belt has had its setbacks: he held the WBA bantamweight title from April 2023 until losing it to Seiya Tsutsumi in October 2024, then rebuilt by beating Nasukawa for the vacant WBC strap.

A Busy Night on the Undercard

The Tokyo card produced several other title results. Australia's Sam Goodman won the interim IBF super bantamweight title with a unanimous decision over Ryosuke Nishida on scores of 114-111, 115-110 and 116-109. South Africa's Ricardo Malajika took the vacant WBC super flyweight title by split decision over Tomoya Tsuboi, and Ryusei Matsumoto claimed the interim WBO minimumweight belt on a unanimous decision against Russell Acosta.

What Comes Next

With two wins over Nasukawa and a defence against Ioka, Inoue has now made two successful defences of the WBC title. No next opponent had been confirmed in the reports reviewed for this article. For Nasukawa, the doubt he voiced before the fight now hangs over his next move.

Sources

• Takuma Inoue survives knockdown, beats Tenshin Nasukawa again to retain WBC bantamweight title, Boxing Insider, 27 September 2026
• Inoue holds off Nasukawa in Tokyo rematch, BoxingNews (James Wright), via Yardbarker, 27 September 2026
• Improved Inoue vows to KO Nasukawa in Sept 27 rematch, The Ring, 23 July 2026
• Takuma Inoue vs Tenshin Nasukawa results (first fight), Fight Mag, November 2025
• Takuma Inoue, Wikipedia, accessed 2 October 2026
• Tenshin Nasukawa, Wikipedia, accessed 2 October 2026