The promotional events for ‘Prime Video Boxing 16’ (27 September, Toyota Arena Tokyo) have begun. On the 14th, Tenshin Nasukawa (Teiken), who is set to contest the WBC bantamweight title, held an open training session at a gym in Tokyo. Nasukawa will take on the reigning champion in the same weight class, Takuma Inoue (Ohashi).
ミット打ちを行う那須川 Naoki Fukuda
Nasukawa, who suffered a 12-round points defeat to Inoue in the title decider last November, faces a rematch for the first time in ten months. This is a bout he simply cannot afford to lose, as he seeks both redemption against Inoue and the world title. “I’ve been living my life to the full every day since the last fight, and the day of reckoning is fast approaching,” said Nasukawa, exuding a sense of tension.
“He (Inoue) fought at a range I wasn’t familiar with and used a style of boxing I hadn’t encountered before,” Nasukawa reflected on their first bout. There is no doubt that the key to this rematch lies in just how much Nasukawa has improved. He has reportedly completed around 150 rounds of sparring with three Mexican sparring partners in the run-up to the fight. “I’ve done what I needed to do. Now it’s a matter of putting my ideas and what I’ve practised into practice,” said Nasukawa.
Although he has had a bout against Juan Estrada (Mexico) in the meantime, Yuichi Kasai, chairman of GLOVES Gym and Nasukawa’s training partner, expressed confidence: “His power, speed and fighting style have all improved. Takuma Inoue is a strong world champion. We have moulded Tenshin to take him on. I think we’ll see a good fight.”
On this day, he carried out shadow boxing, mitt work and heavy bag training in front of the media. There are now less than two weeks to go until the big fight――.
