By Jack Tanner
Copyright independent
A kickboxer-turned-pugilist best known for facing Floyd Mayweather has been handed his first world title shot.
Tenshin Nasukawa will take on former champion Takuma Inoue for the WBC bantamweight strap on Monday, November 24, at the Toyota Arena in the Japanese capital of Tokyo.
Now 7-0 (2 KOs) as a professional boxer, Nasukawa grabbed headlines back in 2018 when he was knocked down three times and stopped inside a round by Mayweather in an exhibition bout.
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Nasukawa did not fully convert to boxing until 2023, after an unbeaten kickboxing career that spanned 42 wins and 28 stoppages.
Ranked No 1 by the WBC, Nasukawa will face compatriot Inoue (22-2, 5 KOs), who has previously held a world title at 118lbs. Just days after the fight was ordered, an agreement has been reached, with Teiken Promotions tasked with organising the bout.
Inoue earned the WBA title in 2023, successfully defending it twice before losing it to fellow Japanese fighter Seiya Tsutsumi in October 2024, who remains in control of the belt.
The ordered showdown between Nasukawa and Inoue ensures that the WBC version of the bantamweight world title will remain in Japan.
Junto Nakatani vacated the belt in order to move up to super bantamweight to chase a domestic bout with Takuma Inoue’s brother Naoya, the undisputed champion at 122lbs.
Nakatani also held the IBF strap at 118lbs, having unified two titles by defeating countryman Ryosuke Nishida in June 2025.
The 27-year-old Nakatani will make his debut at super bantamweight on a Japanese-centric card out in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, December 27, with a bout scheduled against 122lbs contender Sebastian Hernandez Reyes. The Turki Alalshikh-backed card is headed by Naoya Inoue’s undisputed clash with David Picasso.
Japanese fighters have a rich history with the WBC bantamweight world championship, with seven separate boxers from the Land of the Rising Sun holding the belt at various times since its inception in 1963.
Future president of the Japanese Pro Boxing Association, Fighting Harada, was the first to claim the belt in 1965, going on to become undisputed at bantamweight during the two-belt era.
Japan’s biggest boxing star, Naoya Inoue, picked up the title en route to completely unifying the division in 2022.
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