Takuma Inoue, Brother of Naoya, Wins Another World Title on a Monday in Japan

Although he will be forever overshadowed by his older brother, pound-for-pound king Naoya “Monster” Inoue, Takuma Inoue is a fine fighter in his own right. Tonight, at the new Toyota Arena in Tokyo, Takuma, 29, sent rising star Tenshin Nasukawa back to the drawing board, winning a unanimous decision to cop the WBC bantamweight title vacated by Junto Nakatani.

Inoue, 21-2 (5), previously held the WBA version of the belt. He lost it 13 months ago, out-pointed by countryman Seiya Tsutsumi, a setback that so demoralized him that he contemplated retirement. But an opportunity to win another world title without an intervening fight was too good to pass up.

Tenshin Nasukawa, a renowned kickboxer in his teen years, was 7-0 (2) as a professional boxer after suffering a humiliating defeat to Floyd Mayweather Jr who knocked him out in the opening round in what was ostensibly an exhibition. The southpaw, who likes to dye his hair haystack blond, had made such gains in his brief career that he entered the ring a 4/1 favorite. But Takuma, who was accompanied on his ring walk by his celebrated brother, was a bridge too far for Tenshin, who did well in the first two rounds before Takuma settled into a grove. The judges had it 117-111, 116-112, and 116-112.

Other Bouts of Note

In a mild upset, Ra’eese Aleem scored a wide decision over Japanese KO artist Mikito Nakana, winning by scores of 118-109, 116-111, and 115-112, in a match framed as an IBF featherweight eliminator for the title held by Angelo Leo. The pride of Muskegon, Michigan, and the subject of a 2020 profile in these pages, Aleem, 35, closed strong, putting Nakana on the canvas with a straight right hand in the closing seconds of the 10^th frame.

Heading in, Nakana was undefeated in 14 fights with 13 KOs including nine straight. Aleem was 22-1 (12), his only defeat coming by split decision in a 12-rounder with Australia’s Sam Goodman in Broadbeach, Australia. If the match-up doesn’t marinate too long, Aleem would likely be a short favorite over Angelo Leo with whom he crossed paths at Bones Adams’ gym in Las Vegas.

At age 29, Tomaya Tsuboi is a fighter to watch in the 115-pound weight class. In only his third professional fight, Tsuboi dominated and stopped Mexico City veteran Carlos Cuadras, winning by TKO in the eighth round.

Tsuboi (3-0, 2 KOs) had a deep amateur career. His last defeats were by split decision to Uzbekistan’s Hasanboy Dusmatov, a two-time Olympic gold medalist. A consensus 5/1 favorite, he was expected to beat Cuadras who was past his prime at age 37, but his performance exceeded expectations. In Cuadras, who came in riding a 5-fight winning streak, boosting his ledger to 44-6-1, he was meeting a former world title-holder who had fought the best in his weight class while answering the bell for 307 rounds.

Tsuboi won all seven rounds on all three scorecards before ending matters with a barrage of unanswered power punches that forced the referee to intervene with one second remaining in round eight. After the fight, Cuadras announced that he would likely retire.

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