Inoue and Nasukawa Promise Fireworks in Tokyo Rematch

The fight will return the two Japanese rivals to the same venue where Inoue defeated Nasukawa by unanimous decision in their vacant WBC title bout on November 24, 2025, handing the former kickboxing champion the first official defeat of his combat sports career.

Inoue, who represents the Ohashi gym, promised an even more decisive victory when the fighters appeared at an outdoor public news conference in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward. "I will shut him out and send him back. I want him to experience the humiliation of losing twice in a row," he said.

Nasukawa of the Teiken gym responded by predicting a knockout victory. "The emotions I feel cannot be expressed in words that exist in this world," he said. "What I left behind when I lost was enormous. I am going to have him return it with plenty of interest."

Their first meeting was staged to fill the WBC bantamweight championship left vacant after Junto Nakatani relinquished the belt and moved up to the super bantamweight division. Nasukawa entered as the WBC's top-ranked contender, while Inoue was ranked second and seeking to regain world champion status after losing his WBA bantamweight title to Seiya Tsutsumi in October 2024.

Nasukawa began the first fight sharply, using his southpaw stance, speed and longer-range attacks to control the opening rounds. He landed a left overhand in the first round and initially prevented Inoue from settling into his preferred distance.

Inoue gradually adjusted from the third round, moving forward more consistently, closing the space and forcing Nasukawa to fight at a shorter range. He mixed accurate right hands with attacks to the body, reducing Nasukawa's ability to dictate the contest from the outside.

Under the WBC's open-scoring system, the judges' totals were announced after the fourth and eighth rounds. All three judges had the fight level at 38-38 after four rounds. By the end of the eighth, Inoue had begun to move ahead, with scores of 76-76, 77-75 and 78-74.

In the second half, Inoue maintained his pressure and repeatedly took the initiative. Nasukawa attempted to reverse the momentum with straight left hands and right hooks, but Inoue blocked or avoided many of the attacks and continued to control the distance.

After 12 rounds, judges Omar Minton and Tetsuya Iida scored the fight 116-112, while Koji Tanaka returned a wider score of 117-111, all in favor of Inoue. The victory made Inoue a world champion for the third time and returned him to the top of the bantamweight division about 13 months after his loss to Tsutsumi.

The result also ended Nasukawa's unbeaten run across kickboxing, mixed-rules contests and professional boxing. He had entered the bout with 53 consecutive official victories across combat sports and a 7-0 professional boxing record after switching disciplines in 2023.

Although Nasukawa showed that his speed and reflexes could trouble a seasoned world champion, the first fight exposed the difference in experience over 12 rounds. Inoue adapted as the contest progressed, while Nasukawa struggled to regain control once he was pushed out of his preferred long-range rhythm.

Both fighters have strengthened their positions since the first meeting. Inoue retained the WBC title with a unanimous-decision victory over four-division world champion Kazuto Ioka at Tokyo Dome on May 2, while Nasukawa returned with a victory over former four-division champion Juan Francisco Estrada.

The rematch will therefore be more than an immediate attempt at revenge for Nasukawa. It will test whether he has developed sufficiently to solve the pressure, positioning and tactical adjustments that carried Inoue to victory in their first fight.

For Inoue, the contest offers an opportunity to demonstrate that the original result was not simply a product of greater experience, but evidence of a clear technical advantage over one of Japan's most recognizable combat sports figures.

Source: Kyodo