Inoue and Tsutsumi (Photo by Naoki Fukuda)
All eight title fight participants did their job on the scale.
Takuma Inoue is set for the third defense of his WBA bantamweight title. He will face compatriot Seiya Tsutsumi at the top of Saturday’s foursome from the Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Inoue weighed in 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 be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Inoue (20-1, 5 KOs) claimed the WBA 118-pound title last April. He was the first benefactor after the divisional departure of older brother and now four-division champion Naoya Inoue, who vacated all four bantamweight titles.
Takuma Inoue slowly carved 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 the 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 victory over compatriot Sho Ishida.
Tsutsumi (11-0-2, 8 KOs) is challenging for his first major title. It comes amid a remarkable career rebound after a tragedy in the ring.
While his record is perfect, Tsutsumi was forced to take the damage done to Kazuki Anaguchi. Tsutsumi won their brutal ten-round slugfest last December 26 by unanimous decision. Anaguchi never recovered from brain injuries sustained in the fight and died in February.
Tsutsumi bravely moved forward with his career. He scored a knockout of Weerawat Noolae in the fourth round on July 7 at Kokugikan.
In the co-feature, former RING junior flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji aims to become a two-division titlist. His bid comes against 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 has enjoyed two separate WBC 108-pound titles. The 32-year-old from Kyoto, Japan, became The Ring and unified WBC/WBA champion in November 2022 after a seventh-round knockout of undefeated compatriot Hiroto Kyoguchi.
His last 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 to 14-1 (9 KOs) in major title fights.
Nicaragua’s Rosales (36-7, 22 KOs) previously held the very title on the line in his fight. He claimed the title in Japan when he defeated Daigo Higa in April 2018. Only one defense followed before he lost to Charlie Edwards later that December. A second title bid saw Rosales get a ninth-round knockout of Julio Cesar Martinez in December 2019.
Rosales has won five in a row since a questionable loss 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 in at 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) both weighed in at 108 pounds for their vacant WBO junior flyweight title fight.
