TOKYO (Dec. 27, 2024) — Three bantamweight firefights, including a pair of world title showdowns, are set for Monday, Feb. 24, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.

In the main event, pound-for-pound star Junto Nakatani will defend his WBC crown against unbeaten Mexican puncher David Cuellar. Newly crowned WBA champion Seiya Tsutsumi makes his first defense against former flyweight king Daigo Higa in the all-Japanese co-feature.

And, in a 10-round special feature, kickboxing legend Tenshin Nasukawa continues his burgeoning boxing journey against Australian former world champion Jason “Mayhem” Moloney.

Nakatani-Cuellar, Tsutsumi-Higa, and Tenshin-Moloney will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+ as part of a special early-morning presentation.

Nakatani (29-0, 22 KOs) enters 2025 coming off a prolific year that saw him ascend the bantamweight mountaintop. He dethroned Alexandro Santiago by sixth-round stoppage to win the WBC title in February, made his first defense in July with a first-round stoppage over Vincent Astrolabio, and notched a sixth-round TKO over Thailand’s Tasana Salapat in October. From Querétaro, Mexico, Cuellar (28-0, 18 KOs) turned pro in 2017 and will make his first professional appearance outside his home country. He is 5-0 since moving up to bantamweight in 2023, including a stoppage win over former world champion Luis Concepción.

Tsutsumi (12-0-2, 8 KOs) and Higa fought to a 10-round majority draw in October 2020 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. A longtime Japanese bantamweight champion, Tsutsumi bested Takuma Inoue by unanimous decision in October to capture the WBA title. Higa (21-3-1, 19 KOs) reigned as WBC flyweight world champion from 2017-2018. He is 5-2 since the defeat to Tsutsumi, most recently dropping a competitive decision to WBO bantamweight world champion Yoshiki Takei in September.

Tenshin (5-0, 2 KOs) turned pro in April 2023 and is ranked in the top 10 by three sanctioning organizations. He went 3-0 in 2024, capping off his campaign with a 10-round decision over Gerwin Asilo for the WBO Asia Pacific belt. Moloney (27-3, 19 KOs) became a crowd favorite in Japan when he fought Takei in May at the Toyko Dome. Despite losing a unanimous decision and his WBO bantamweight title to Takei, he had Takei badly hurt in the final seconds of the 12^th round. He returns against one of Japan’s mainstream sporting heroes in hopes of earning another title opportunity.

Yoshiki Takei retained the WBO Bantamweight title with a close and hotly contested 12-round unanimous decision over Daigo Higa.

Takei, 117 3/4 lbs of Yokoyama, JAP won by scores of 115–112 twice and 114-113 and is now 10-0. Higa, 117 3/4 lbs of Tokyo is 21-3-1.

TOKYO (July 16, 2024) — Pound-for-pound icon Naoya “The Monster” Inoue will defend his undisputed super bantamweight world championship against Irish-born former world champion TJ Doheny on Tuesday, Sept. 3 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Inoue, a two-weight undisputed king, has knocked out eight consecutive foes.
 
Inoue-Doheny headlines a star-studded card streaming live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+. This special early morning broadcast will also include WBO bantamweight world champion Yoshiki Takei (9-0, 8 KOs) defending his belt against former flyweight world champion Daigo Higa (21-2-1, 19 KOs).

Venezuelan puncher Ismael Barroso (25-4-2, 23 KOs) will defend his interim junior welterweight world title versus rising Japanese contender Andy Hiraoka (23-0, 18 KOs) in undercard action.

“Naoya Inoue is a generational talent, and every time he fights, the boxing world stops to watch the master at work,” said Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum. “TJ Doheny is a veteran who can never be counted out, as he’s defied the odds many times when fighting in Japan.”
 
Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs) claimed his first world title more than 10 years ago and is 22-0 with 20 knockouts in world championship fights. Inoue’s undisputed legacy began in December 2022 when he knocked out Paul Butler to unify all the bantamweight titles. He then consolidated the super bantamweight division in short order, capturing the WBC and WBO world titles by stopping Stephen Fulton in eight in July 2023 before vanquishing WBA/IBF champion Marlon Tapales that December. The 31-year-old powerhouse, named 2023 Fighter of the Year by ESPN and Ring Magazine, returned to headline at the historic Tokyo Dome in May. In the first boxing card there since Buster Douglas shocked Mike Tyson in 1990, Inoue survived a first-round knockdown to KO Mexican two-division champ Luis Nery in six.
  
Doheny (26-4, 20 KOs) has a rich history in Japan and against Japanese fighters. He is 3-0 against Japanese fighters and 4-0 on Japanese soil, with three victories as the betting underdog. Doheny dethroned IBF junior featherweight world champion Ryosuke Iwasa on enemy territory in August 2018. He defended the belt against Japanese challenger Ryohei Takahashi via 11th-round TKO the following January before losing the strap to Danny Roman in a close unification fight that April. Despite some setbacks, Doheny has rebounded with three consecutive wins on Japanese turf. He defeated Kazuki Nakajima via fourth-round TKO in June 2023, blasted out Japhethlee Llamido by first-round stoppage last October, and triumphed over Bryl Bayogos in four rounds on the Inoue-Nery undercard.