Takuma Inoue and Seigo Yuri Akui Defend World Titles in Decision Wins

Takuma Inoue and Seigo Yuri Akui had little issue holding on to their respective world titles.

The two fighters defended their belts on the undercard of Naoya Inoue’s undisputed title defence against Luis Nery. Fight fans were able to catch the action live on ESPN+ in the United States, while those in the United Kingdom and Ireland could do so on Sky Sports. The May 6 card took place at the Tokyo Dome, the very place where Buster Douglas defied the odds to knock out Mike Tyson.

Takuma Inoue and Seigo Yuri Akui Retain Their Titles

Inoue Retains Title Against Ishida

Takuma Inoue (20-1, 5 KOs) overcame an early knockdown to remain the WBA bantamweight champion with a unanimous decision win over Sho Ishida (34-4, 17 KOs).

Scores for the clash were 118-109 (x2) and 116-111. Both men began the fight cautiously, throwing quick punches every now and then. A counter jab from Ishida sent Inoue to the canvas towards the end of round one. The bantamweight champion showed no signs of being hurt, however, and got up comfortably from the knockdown.

DOWN GOES TAKUMA INOUE 😮 pic.twitter.com/Y3jIyJPHOu

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 6, 2024

Inoue gradually worked his way back into the contest. Whenever he got inside, he was having success landing hooks and uppercuts. Ishida was having some success when they fought at range, thanks to his longer reach, but also had to deal with his nose beginning to bleed in round three. While the Ishida consistently threw and landed the jab, he struggled to land other punches of note.

All gas, no breaks to end the eleventh 😤#InoueNery | Ringwalk approx. 7:35AM ET | @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/a1j3Oy6EaM

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 6, 2024

As the rounds went on, Inoue became more and more comfortable, outboxing his opponent who was unable to capitalize on the first round knockdown. Ishida was clearly behind going into the tenth and picked up his activity rate in a bid to win the late rounds. Both men were landing flush on each other, but Inoue was getting the better of the exchanges. In the end, the younger brother of Naoya Inoue showed that the knockdown had done little damage to him and walked away with his hand raised.

Akui Victorious Again in Rematch Against Kuwahara

Seigo Yuri Akui (20-2-1, 11 KOs) keeps his WBA flyweight title with a unanimous decision win against Taku Kuwahara (13-2, 8 KOs).

Scores for the bout were 118-110 and 117-111 (x2). Kuwahara began the fight moving around the ring, making Akui chase him. Both were having success in landing punches, but the reigning champion was catching his opponent a bit more often in the early rounds. The bulk of the fight was fought with Akui pressing forward and Kuwahara moving along the ropes.

By the middle rounds, Akui was starting to pull away. Kuwahara was tiring and nothing he landed was deterring the champion from coming forward. Akui was never able to cut off the ring against a mobile Kuwahara, but he did not have trouble landing jabs and hooks. In the first meeting between the pair in July 2021, Akui was able to stop Kuwahara late in what was a close fight. While the challenger was not as careless with his defence in this bout, he was still unable to deal with the pressure of Akui.

Akui was sporting a cut over the right eye by the end of round 11. He still came out strong for the twelfth, troubling an exhausted Kuwahara with body shots and relentless pressure. The challenger did what he could to keep moving and fight back, but it was too little, too late as Akui had already racked up a significant lead and showed no signs of wilting.

TJ Doheny Makes It Three Knockouts in a Row

TJ Doheny (26-4, 20 KOs) got the stoppage win against Bryl Bayogos (7-1-1, 2 KOs) in an eight-round super bantamweight bout.

The stoppage came in the fourth round. Doheny sent his opponent down twice in the third. Towards the end of round four, Bayogos went to the canvas again and the fight came to an end. With the win, the former 122-lb champion now has three knockout wins in a row with all of them coming in Japan. Doheny was on the card in case Nery was unable to go ahead with his bout against Naoya Inoue. The fight between Doheny and Bayogos occured before the broadcast had begun.

Be sure to return to Big Fight Weekend for our final recap of Naoya Inoue vs. Luis Nery.