Takuma Inoue retained the WBC bantamweight title on September 27, 2026, but his rematch with Tenshin Nasukawa was far from a routine defense. At Toyota Arena Tokyo, Inoue won a unanimous decision by scores of 116–111, 116–111 and 114–113. The final card was close enough to show why the seventh round remains the central moment of the fight.
Nasukawa dropped the champion with a one-two combination in that round, according to the World Boxing Council's event report. Inoue survived the follow-up pressure and finished all 12 rounds. The WBC describes him re-establishing his jab and right hand afterward, while Nasukawa continued to press late. All three judges still favored Inoue. A unanimous decision means the judges agreed on the winner; it does not mean they saw the same margin. Here, one judge had only a point between them.
This was their second world-title meeting in less than a year. Inoue beat Nasukawa in November 2025 to win the vacant WBC bantamweight belt, then defended it against Kazuto Ioka in May 2026. The September result keeps that title with Inoue and gives him a second decision victory over Nasukawa. It does not, by itself, settle who he will face next.
The Tokyo card also changed another division. Ricardo Malajika defeated Tomoya Tsuboi by split decision to claim the vacant WBC super-flyweight title. The WBC reported scores of 116–112 and 115–113 for Malajika, with the third judge scoring it 115–113 for Tsuboi. That result is separate from Inoue's bantamweight defense, but it made the event more than a one-bout showcase.
The WBC says Inoue is interested in a unification fight. No opponent, date or venue for such a bout is confirmed in its result report, so fans should treat that as a goal rather than an announced booking. For viewers who missed the Tokyo card, DAZN Boxing has published official full-card highlights; the link below leads to that video, not to an unauthorized upload.
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