Japanese stars Junto Nakatani and Takuma Inouestole the show at the Kokukigan Arena in Tokyo on February 24th, winning their respective matches to showcase and confirm their talent as one of the best fighters Japan has produced in the modern era. With both fighters having fought at bantamweight and now in possession of two out of four world titles in the division, there is everything to suggest the two fighters might face each other sooner than later.
Takuma Inoue (19-1, 5 KO’s) featured in the co-main event of the Teiken Promotions card alongside Jerwin Ancajas (34-4-2, 23 KO’s) in a bantamweight title fight where his WBA title was put on the line. Defending his title for the first time following his win over Liborio Solis (37-7-1, 18 KO’s) in 2023 to gain the WBA world title, Inoue took nine rounds to dispatch Ancajas via knockout in a bout scheduled for twelve rounds.
Despite the result, Inoue endured a tough and substantially close fight as Jerwin Ancajas’ pressure on the night forced Inoue to reign in his aggressiveness somewhat to focus on being defensively responsible. Inoue was further challenged by Ancajas’ southpaw stance which made Inoue more hesitant in fighting up close.
However, Inoue physically seemed the quicker fighter both on his feet and with his hands, which gave the Japanese bantamweight the necessary advantages to eventually grab a decisive victory. While Ancajas did show the ability to fight well on the backfoot, Inoue’s own aptitude at fighting well at range made it difficult for Ancajas to step in and land any blows.
Inoue’s counters oftentimes made Ancajas’ offensive efforts look ineffectual, even though Ancajas did land quite often when he chose offense as his next course. Inoue’s own aggressiveness did change the course of the match, as his jabs and ability to fight while keeping his distance allowed the Japanese champion to retain control of the ring.
Furthermore, Inoue’s hand speed made it difficult for Ancajas to anticipate on the Japanese champion’s punches, resulting in the Filipino fighter being forced back more often than needed when Takuma Inoue sought to capitalize on his speed advantage. As the rounds passed, Inoue’s aggressiveness grew and despite the risks he took pressuring Ancajas and fighting more on the inside, Inoue proved very effective when he channeled his efforts into actively attacking the Filipino contender with a variety of punches―especially his body work which would come into play later in the match.
By the ninth round, Takuma Inoue appeared to be winning on the cards and this was reflected by the offensive pressure he mounted on Ancajas. With Ancajas’ own offense stagnating throughout the past round, Inoue seemed perfectly in control by the ninth round and while brawling with the Filipino fighter up close, Inoue planted a body shot that sent Ancajas to one knee.
Jerwin Ancajas proved unable to continue following the knockdown, and the fight was waved off after he failed to beat the count, allowing Inoue to become the winner by knockout [stoppages are often ruled as knockouts in Japan] and retain his WBA title for the first time of his career.
It was an admirable performance from Takuma Inoue who seems to be moving out of the shadow of his older brother, current undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (26-0, 23 KO’s). Now he has established himself as a genuine world champion following the success of his first title defense, Takuma Inoue now lies on the precipice of dominating the division similar to his brother, but finds himself surrounded by three other tough champions who he first has to make his way through; including Junto Nakatani (27-0, 20 KO’s) who debuted as a bantamweight on the same card and arguably performed even better than Takuma Inoue.
Having entered the ring as a two-division world champion, Junto Nakatani’s performance against Mexican WBC bantamweight champion Alexandre Santiago (28-4-5, 14 KO’s) was a statement to the rest of the division as Nakatani also emerged as the winner by knockout. With the two competing in the main event of the card, it was Nakatani who went on to steal the show as he largely dominated in a bout that was expected to be closer, and last longer.
The ability of Junto Nakatani showed signs of him being well on track to become a pound-for-pounder, as Santiago was simply unable to prevent himself from being outmatched. Nakatani’s diversity of punches , ring IQ, physical abilities and commitment in the ring made the match one-sided and Santiago was unable to prevent a blow-out loss as a result.
For the first five rounds of the twelve-round title bout, Santiago found himself peppered with shots from every angle and was barely able to respond as Nakatani kept up a high pace and unleashed debilitating combinations that often sent Santiago retreating―despite Santiago’s fighting style often placing him in the position as an aggressor. Unaccustomed to being pushed and pressured, the WBC bantamweight champion did attempt to fight back but was too slow and too ineffective to make a difference.
The sixth round was the last round the two fighters would engage in with Nakatani striking gold when he landed a hard left from the southpaw stance in the opening minute, dropping the Mexican champion as a result. Sensing a victory, Nakatani resumed his assault after Santiago beat the count to get up. Just seconds after suffering his first knockdown, Santiago was knocked down again as the Japanese contender immediately pounced on him with another set of combinations that ended in a right hook.
As Santiago struggled to get up, his corner threw in the towel to stop the fight, resulting in Junto Nakatani grabbing the knockout win in the sixth round to become the new WBC bantamweight champion. With the performance Nakatani put in, off the back of Inoue’s own win against Ancajas, there was little to dissuade any notion that Nakatani may have catapulted himself to becoming the most dangerous fighter in the bantamweight division.
The two Japanese champions are now at a crossroads where they will undoubtedly have to face each other if they intend to become undisputed, however they can look towards the two remaining champions at bantamweight before setting their sights on each other; Australian WBO champion Jason Moloney (27-2, 19 KO’s) and IBF Puerto Rican champion Emmanuel Rodriguez (22-2, 13 KO’s).
The rest of the card saw another Japanese world champion emerge as Kosei Tanaka (20-1, 11 KO’s) became the WBO super flyweight champion after defeating Christian Bacasegua Rangel (22-5-2, 9 KO’s) over a course of twelve rounds to win by unanimous decision. The WBO super flyweight title had been vacant and made available for their contest.
Notably, the WBO title had previously belonged to Junto Nakatani himself before he vacated the title in an attempt to move to the bantamweight division where he just became the WBC champion.
Japanese prospect Riku Masuda (4-1, 4 KO’s) also impressed on the undercard, managing to knockout Filipino opponent Jonas Sultan (19-7, 11 KO’s) in the first round to prove his credentials. More impressively, Masuda was coming off a loss to countryman Seiya Tsutsumi (10-0-2, 7 KO’s) who defeated him by unanimous decision last year. Masuda and Sultan fought in a bantamweight non-title bout that was scheduled for eight rounds.
