Inoue vs Nasukawa 2 fight preview, betting odds, prediction

Everything you need to know about Takuma Inoue vs Tenshin Nasukawa 2

Takuma Inoue (22-2, 5 KOs) will face Tenshin Nasukawa (8-1, 3 KOs) for a second time, this time with Inoue defending his WBC Bantamweight World Title.

30-year-old Takuma, the younger brother of four-weight champ Naoya Inoue, captured the green and gold belt on November 24, 2025, when he faced Nasukawa for the vacant crown. After 12 rugged rounds, Inoue emerged victorious.

The champion successfully defended his title for the first in May 2026 to Kazuto Ioka via a wide UD.

The challenger comes into the fight after defeating formidable Mexican Juan Francisco Estrada in an eliminator. That victory earned him another opportunity to challenge for the same title again, 10 months on from their first clash.

It will be a card filled with green and gold belts, as Tomoya Tsuboi will face Ricardo Malajika for the WBC Super Flyweight World Title. The championship is vacant after Jesse Rodriguez decided to pursue new challenges at 118 pounds.

For both Tsuboi and Malajika, this will be the first world title fight of their respective careers.

Fight Details

Date: Sunday, September 27

Venue: Tokyo Arena in Tokyo, Japan

TV Channel: The fight will be broadcast on Prime Video

Start Times:

• Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras: 1:30am Central Mexico Time
• United States: 3:30am ET
• Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Panama: 2:30am
• Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican, Bolivia, Venezuela: 3:30am
• Argentina, Uruguay, Chile: 4:30am
• Spain: 9:30am
• Japan: 4:30pm Tokyo Time

Full Card

Takuma Inoue vs Tenshin Nasukawa
12x3 WBC World bantamweight title

Tomoya Tsuboi vs Ricardo Malajika
12x3 WBC World super-flyweight title

Ryosuke Nishida vs Sam Goodman
12x3 IBF Interim super-bantamweight title

Ryusei Matsumoto vs Russell Acosta
12x3 WBO Interim minimumweight title

Hayato Aiko vs Natsuki Kuramochi
4x3 Featherweight

Betting Odds

4/11 Inoue

2/1 Nasukawa

Fight Prediction

Tim Rickson, GBN Editor: "The scorecards for the first fight were unanimous to Inoue at 116-112, 116-112, and 117-111.

"For Tenshin Nasukawa, it was the first official loss of his combat sports career, including his kickboxing days.

"For Tenshin, this is a fight where he seeks both revenge against the man who handed him his first loss and blocked him from his first world title.

"Early on in the first fight, it wasn't a match that Takuma Inoue dominated from the start. It was Tenshin Nasukawa who showed his presence early on. Using his signature speed, reactions, and unique sense of distance, he attacked from the outside and landed his left hand. GHe took the upper hand early on and looked likely to outpoint Inoue over the distance.

However, the world-class experience shown by Takuma Inoue over the full 12 rounds made the difference. From the the middle rounds onward, it was Takuma who grew into the conrtest and gradually increased his presence. He closed the distance, increased the pressure and the pace, and didn't let Tenshin fight only at the distance he preferred.

Furthermore, Inoue landed body shots, straight rights, jabs and uppercuts, taking control of the fight. Inoue took away Tenshin's preferred way to fight, neutralised him and imposed his own gameplan.

"The rematch is so intriguing because it's not just a continuation of the first fight. It's not the exact same two people that are fighting again.

"Since that defeat, Tenshin has experienced a very significant victory over former two-weight world champion Juan Francisco Estrada, stopping him in the ninth round.

"He bounced back from his first loss emphatically and earned the right to challenge Takuma Inoue again.

"But Inoue has also had a big win in May 2026 when he defended his title by defeating Kazuto Ioka via a 12-round decision, gaining even more experience as a world champion.

"Tenshin was bright in the early stages, but couldn't keep it up, partly due to inexperience but mostly down to Inoue's dominance. There's lessons to learn and improvements to be made there for the challenger, but there's the same to be said for the champion, who now possesses a full 12-rounds of data on his opponent and who will know to get going quicker and to not give away a few early rounds like before.

"I could analyse this fight forever, stating my case for both boxers, but I'm going to close this debate early by giving the champion Inoue the nod. I think Nasukawa will be better and more difficult to pin down than the first fight, but for Inoue to win on points again, perhaps a closer split decision this time."