February 24: Junto Nakatani-David Cuellar showdown tops bantamweight bonanza in Tokyo
Seiya Tsutsumi to defend WBA bantamweight title towards former flyweight king Daigo Higa within the co-feature
Tenshin Nasukawa-Jason Moloney rounds out the tripleheader in a high-stakes particular function
Three bantamweight firefights, together with a pair of world title showdowns, are set for Monday, February 24, at Ariake Enviornment in Tokyo.
In the principle occasion, pound-for-pound star Junto Nakatani will defend his WBC crown towards unbeaten Mexican puncher David Cuellar. Newly topped WBA champion Seiya Tsutsumi makes his first protection towards former flyweight king Daigo Higa within the all-Japanese co-feature.
And, in a 10-round particular function, kickboxing legend Tenshin Nasukawa continues his burgeoning boxing journey towards Australian former world champion Jason “Mayhem” Moloney.
Nakatani-Cuellar, Tsutsumi-Higa, and Tenshin-Moloney will stream stay and solely within the U.S. on ESPN+ as a part of a particular early-morning presentation.
Nakatani-Cuellar
Signed to High Rank, Nakatani (29-0, 22 KOs) enters 2025 coming off a prolific 12 months that noticed him ascend the bantamweight mountaintop. He dethroned Alexandro Santiago by sixth-round stoppage to win the WBC title in February, made his first defence 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 professional in 2017 and can make his first skilled look outdoors his residence nation. He’s 5-0 since shifting as much as bantamweight in 2023, together with a stoppage win over former world champion Luis Concepción.
Tsutsumi-Higa
Tsutsumi (12-0-2, 8 KOs) and Higa fought to a 10-round majority attract October 2020 at Korakuen Corridor in Tokyo. A longtime Japanese bantamweight champion, Tsutsumi bested Takuma Inoue by unanimous determination in October to seize the WBA title.
Higa (21-3-1, 19 KOs) reigned as WBC flyweight world champion from 2017-2018. He’s 5-2 because the defeat to Tsutsumi, most just lately dropping a aggressive determination to WBO bantamweight world champion Yoshiki Takei in September.
Tenshin-Moloney
Tenshin (5-0, 2 KOs) turned professional in April 2023 and is ranked within the high 10 by three sanctioning organizations. He went 3-0 in 2024, capping off his marketing campaign with a 10-round determination over Gerwin Asilo for the WBO Asia Pacific belt.
Moloney (27-3, 19 KOs) grew to become a crowd favourite in Japan when he fought Takei in Could on the Toyko Dome. Regardless of shedding a unanimous determination and his WBO bantamweight title to Takei, he had Takei badly harm within the remaining seconds of the twelfth spherical. He returns towards one among Japan’s mainstream sporting heroes in hopes of incomes one other title alternative.
