Tenshin Nasukawa understands the pushback from those who insist he is taking on too much, too soon.

Still, he chose to push through with the decision to step up and a universally ranked contender if only to please his harshest critic—himself.

“Every fight I take is to surpass all expectations my fans—and even those who aren’t fans of mine—have of me,” Nasukawa told The Ring. “I use what my fans want to see and find the opponent who fits.”

That decision led to Australia’s Jason Moloney (27-3, 19 KOs), The Ring’s No. 7 bantamweight and a former WBO titlist whom Nasukawa (5-0, 2 KOs) will face in just his sixth pro fight. The two will meet this Monday as part of an ESPN+/Amazon Prime-Japan bantamweight tripleheader from Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

The oddsmakers side with Nasukawa more so than public opinion. BetFred sportsbook has Nasukawa as a -250 favorite to prevail on Monday.

Headlining the show, Junto Nakatani (29-0, 22 KOs), The Ring’s No. 9 pound-for-pound fighter, defends his WBC 118-pound title against Mexico’s David Cuellar (28-0, 18 KOs). Nakatani and Cuellar are ranked No. 1 and No. 8, respectively, at bantamweight by The Ring.

Also on the show, Seiya Tstusumi (12-0-2, 8 KOs) risks his WBA belt against countryman and former flyweight titlist Daigo Higa (21-3-1, 19 KOs). Tsutsumi and Higa are The Ring’s No. 3 and No. 9 bantamweights, respectively.

Nasukawa is the only fighter on Monday’s live stream not in The Ring’s top ten, though that’s to be expected since he is still less than two full years into his pro boxing career.

A win on Monday will undoubtedly put him there, and perhaps even right into title contention. That next step, however, will have to wait until after he’s through with his toughest test to date.

“I am fully focused on Jason Moloney,” Nasukawa insisted. “I obviously want to fight for a world title sooner than later but I can’t get there without looking past this fight.

“With a win, we will determine what’s next in my career. Jason Moloney is a former world champion who deserves and has earned my respect.”

Nasukawa has been matched aggressively since his April 2023 pro debut. His team has made a point for 2025 to be the year where he lands on the contender stage. The wildly popular former kickboxer—often hailed as one of the best in modern history in that genre—has immediately earned the respect of the boxing community, as he proved from the start that he was far more than a novelty act.

It led to the additional step up in class in Moloney, who has only lost at the championship level. The 33-year-old Aussie product held the WBO bantamweight title for nearly a full year before he lost it to Yoshiki Takei (10-0, 8 KOs) in a heartbreaking decision last May at the Tokyo Dome.

Nasukawa views the matchup as the natural course of progression, as he enters his third scheduled ten-round affair.

“I can’t blame people for saying I’m taking fight too soon,” admits Nasukawa. “I’m confident that I have trained to a level above and beyond this particular training camp.”