Oct. 13/14: Takuma Inoue-Seiya Tsutsumi & Junto Nakatani-Petch Sor Chitpattana Bantamweight World Title Fights Headline Tokyo Cards LIVE on ESPN+
The action kicks off Sunday, Oct. 13, as Takuma Inoue defends his WBA bantamweight world title against Seiya Tsutsumi. In the co-feature, Kenshiro Teraji aims to conquer a second weight class by facing former champion Cristofer Rosales for the vacant WBC flyweight world title.
Inoue (20-1, 5 KOs), the younger brother of pound-for-pound mainstay Naoya Inoue,
captured the vacant belt with a points win over Liborio Solis in April 2023. He defended it with a ninth-round stoppage versus former world champion Jerwin Ancajas in February and a unanimous decision over Sho Ishida in May. Tsutsumi (11-0-2, 8 KOs) makes his first world title appearance following a fourth-round TKO against Weerawat Noolae in July.
Teraji (22-1, 14 KOs) made three defenses of his unified light flyweight crown, including a majority decision win over Carlos Cañizales in January. He is 14-1 in light flyweight world title contests dating back to May 2017. Rosales (37-6, 22 KOs) is on a five-fight winning streak following an April 2022 decision loss to eventual IBF champ Angel Ayala. He won the WBC flyweight world title in 2018 in Japan, stopping local favorite Daigo Higa in nine rounds.
In additional fight action on Sunday, Oct. 13:
* Seigo Yuri Akui (20-2-1, 11 KOs) vs. Thananchai Charunphak (25-1, 15 KOs), 12 Rounds, Akui’s WBA Flyweight World Title
* Shokichi Iwata (13-1, 10 KOs) vs. Jairo Noriega (14-0, 3 KOs), 12 Rounds, Vacant WBO Light Flyweight World Title
The action continues Monday, Oct. 14, as three-division king Junto Nakatani defends his WBC bantamweight world title against Petch Sor Chitpattana. In the 10-round co-feature, former kickboxing world champion Tenshin Nasukawa (4-0, 2 KOs) faces Filipino contender Gerwin Asilo (9-0, 4 KOs) for the vacant WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight title.
Nakatani (28-0, 21 KOs) captured the WBC strap in February with a sixth-round TKO against Alexandro Santiago. The 26-year-old southpaw authored a devastating encore in July, knocking out Vincent Astrolabio in the opening round. Sor Chitpattana (76-1, 53 KOs) returns to Japan for the first time since his 2018 interim title bout loss to Takuma Inoue. Since that setback, he has an impressive 28-0 record with 20 knockouts.
Two additional world title showdowns will take place on Monday, Oct. 14:
* Kosei Tanaka (20-1, 11 KOs) vs. Phumelele Cafu (10-0-3, 8 KOs), 12 Rounds, Tanaka’s WBO Junior Bantamweight World Title
* Anthony Olascuaga (7-1, 5 KOs) vs. Jonathan Gonzalez (28-3-1, 14 KOs), 12 Rounds, Olascuaga’s WBO Flyweight World Title
