Inoue and Tsutsumi. (Photo by Naoki Fukuda)
All participants of the battle of the eight titles did their work on the scale.
Takuma Inoue is about to defend his WBA bantamweight title for the third time. He will face countryman Seiya Tsutsumi in a quadrupleheader on Saturday at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Inoue weighed in at 118 pounds, while Tsutsumi weighed in at 117 3/4 pounds for his first title challenge.
Their scheduled twelve-round fight will air live on ESPN+.
Inoue (20-1, 5 KOs) captured the WBA 118-pound title last April. He was the first beneficiary following the divisional departure of older brother and now four-division champion Naoya Inoue, who vacated all four bantamweight titles.
Takuma Inoue carved his name slowly. Ring’s 3-rated bantamweight was stunned in the ninth round by former 115-pound champion Jerwin Ancajas on Feb. 24 at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo. He then returns ten weeks later to join Naoya on the May 6 show at the Tokyo Dome. His appearance led to a twelve round victory over countryman Sho Ishida.
Tsutsumi (11-0-2, 8 KOs) is challenging for his first major title. It comes amid a dramatic career setback following an internal crisis.
Although his record was perfect, Tsutsumi was forced to take the damage done to Kazuki Anaguchi. Their brutal ten-round slugfest last December 26 saw Tsutsumi win by unanimous decision. Anaguchi never recovered from the brain damage he suffered in the battle and died in February.
Tsutsumi boldly moved forward with his work. He beat Weerawat Noolae in the fourth round on July 7 at Kokugikan.
In the next match, former RING junior flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji aims to become a two-division contender. His attempt came against former flyweight champion Christopher Rosales in a fight for the vacant WBC flyweight belt.
Teraji (23-1, 14 KOs) was 111 3/4 pounds, while Nicaragua’s Rosales (36-7, 22 KOs) was right at 112 pounds.
Teraji enjoyed a separate reign for the WBC 108-pound title. The 32-year-old from Kyoto, Japan entered The Ring and became the joint WBC/WBA champion on Nov. 2022 after being knocked out in the seventh round of the world’s undefeated Hiroto Kyoguchi.
His last defense came in a 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.
Nicaraguan Rosales (36-7, 22 KOs) previously held the very title at stake in his fight. He claimed the title in Japan, defeating Daigo Higa in April 2018. Only one defense followed before he lost to Charlie Edwards later that December. A second title bid saw Rosales lose in the ninth round to Julio Cesar Martinez on Dec. 2019.
Rosales is on a five-fight winning streak since losing to Angel Ayala in questionable fashion in his 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 gained 108 pounds in their fight for the vacant WBO junior flyweight belt.
