BANTAMWEIGHT contenders Tenshin Nasukawa and Takuma Inoue are expected to collide for the vacant WBC title, as relinquished by Junto Nakatani, in the not too distant future.
Their world title clash emerged as a genuine possibility once it became clear that Nakatani, who recently vacated his WBC and IBF straps at 118lbs, would move up to super-bantamweight.
That much was then confirmed last Thursday, following the announcement that the former unified champion is gearing up to face Sebastian Reyes on December 27.
As a result, the WBC has now ordered a mouth-watering matchup between Nasukawa, 7-0 (2 KOs), and Inoue, 20-2 (5 KOs), giving both parties until October 21 to reach an agreement.
Despite a rather discouraging exhibition match with Floyd Mayweather, which reduced him to tears back in 2018, Nasukawa has since established himself as the WBC’s number-one ranked contender at bantamweight.
In fact, the former kickboxing star is now considered one of his division’s most promising talents, his elastic movement and educated footwork typically making for a compelling spectacle.
A particularly polished performance saw the 27-year-old outpoint former world champion Jason Moloney earlier this year, before he then cemented his lofty position with another unanimous decision victory, this time against Victor Santillan, in June.
Inoue, meanwhile, has not fought since his encounter with Seiya Tsutsumi in October 2024, which ultimately saw the 29-year-old lose his WBA title via a comprehensive points decision.
And while fighters do not typically secure a world title shot immediately after a defeat, it would nonetheless appear that, as the WBC’s number-two ranked contender, the brother of Naoya Inoue has been given a somewhat generous pass.
Not only that, but Japanese news reports would indicate that Inoue and Nasukawa have been in negotiations for quite some time, suggesting that their world title fight is unlikely to go to purse bids.
