Tenshin Nasukawa vows to seize the initiative in Takuma Inoue rematch

On September 27, at the Toyota Arena in Tokyo, Takuma Inoue vs Tenshin Nasukawa 2 headlines a Teiken Promotions card, with Inoue’s WBC bantamweight title on the line. Fight fans in Japan can catch the action live on Prime Video, while the rest of the world can do so on DAZN. Ahead of this intriguing rematch, Nasukawa spoke to The Ring, discussing his regard for Inoue and the importance of improving and taking his revenge.

Takuma Inoue vs Tenshin Nasukawa set for September 27 rematch

Inoue (22-2, 5 KOs) and Nasukawa (8-1, 3 KOs) faced each other on November 24, 2025, with Inoue winning the vacant WBC bantamweight title by unanimous decision, with scorecards of 117-111 and 116-112 x2. It was a deserved victory for Takuma, who controlled the pace throughout and often beat Nasukawa to the punch for much of the bout. After that victory, Inoue dominated Kazuto Ioka, winning by unanimous decision, with scorecards of 119-107, 120-106, and 118-108, to retain his WBC title.

Nasukawa did not take an easy fight after the loss to Inoue; he elected to face Mexican legend Juan Francisco Estrada. The former kickboxing star produced an impressive performance, stopping “El Gallo” in the ninth round, while up on all three cards.

Nasukawa focused on gaining redemption

Takuma Inoue vs Tenshin Nasukawa 1 was an entertaining fight, with Inoue the deserved winner; however, Nasukawa has to be applauded for taking the rematch so soon. His progression in just nine fights is impressive, but the popular former kickboxing star will need to produce a career-best performance to dethrone the younger brother of Naoya Inoue.

Revealing his determination not to lose the rematch, Nasukawa said:

“I see defeat as losing to myself. In order to surpass who I was before, I am in desperate determination not to let myself be beaten.”

“I consider him as an all-rounded fighter, capable of doing it all, and I believe they [Ring/ undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya and Takuma] are the most dynamic pair of brothers in Japanese boxing right now,” added the Tokyo southpaw.

Discussing what went wrong in their first meeting, Nasukawa said: “I think the reason for the loss was that I hesitated during the match,” he said. “Takuma consistently beat me to the initiative. I am now visualizing ways to initiate the action from me to maneuver the opponent.”

The win over Estrada was impressive and showed improvements made by Nasukawa.

“I learned to stick to my style without hesitation,” he said. “I became able to handle whatever comes my way and take the initiative in shaping the flow of the match.”

“My will is stronger than before and my fans cheering will push me back to victory,” added the 28-year-old.

Takuma Inoue vs Tenshin Nasukawa 2 full fight card

• Takuma Inoue vs Tenshin Nasukawa, rematch, 12 rounds, for Inoue’s WBC bantamweight title
• Tomoya Tsuboi vs Ricardo Malajika, 12 rounds, for vacant WBC super flyweight title
• Ryosuke Nishida vs Sam Goodman, 12 rounds, for vacant IBF interim super bantamweight title
• Ryusei Matsumoto vs Russell Acosta Silveira, 12 rounds, for vacant WBO interim strawweight title
• Hayato Aiko vs Natsuki Kuramochi, 4 rounds, featherweights

Stay with Big Fight Weekend for coverage of Takuma Inoue vs Tenshin Nasukawa 2, including results and video highlights, and post-fight analysis.

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Featured Image Credit:

Team Inoue