Tenshin Nasukawa continued the transformation from all-time great kickboxer to budding bantamweight contender.

The latest step in his aggressively matched career saw the wildly popular influencer outpoint former WBO bantamweight titlist Jason Moloney over ten rounds. Judges Edward Ligas (97-93), Michiaki Someya (97-93) and Mekin Sumo (98-92) all scored for Nasukawa in their ESPN+/Amazon Prime-Japan co-feature Monday evening at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

It was definitely a hard fight as expected," Nasukawa said through in-ring translator Mizuka Koike. "We expected it to be this way.

"Tonight, I became a man in the ring."

Moloney (27-4, 19 KOs), 34, clearly learned his lesson from his previous trip to Japan. The bitter taste remained months after his WBO title-losing effort to Yoshiki Takei last May 6 at The Tokyo Dome. Moloney, The Ring's No. 7 bantamweight, closed that fight strong but was well behind on the scorecards by that point and was unable to retain his title.

A much quicker start was offered this time around by the visiting Aussie, who worked his jab and quickly found a home for his right hand in the first two rounds. Nasukawa, 26, was determined to target the body, particularly with a whipping left out of the southpaw stance.

It didn't take long for Nasukawa to adjust, putting to rest any concern that he was taking on too much, too soon in just his sixth pro fight. The superior body work put in by Nasukawa slowed down Moloney's attack.

Nasukawa controlled the action through the midway point. He was consistent with his lead left hand and offered just enough movement to slow down Moloney's offensive output.

Sensing the fight was slipping away, trainer Angelo Hyder urged Moloney to double up on the jab to set up his combinations.

The former titlist obliged and came out firing to start the sixth. The adjustment led to right hand success for Moloney. Nasukawa took one on the chin and was fortunate to avoid a knockdown call when he stumbled to deck. Referee Kazuhiko Nakamura correctly ruled that Moloney stepped on Nasukawa's right foot, a common development in meetings between conventional fighters and southpaws.

Nasukawa regained control of the fight in the seventh and never really looked back.

A right uppercut by Nasukawa snapped back the head of Moloney, later followed by a left uppercut at close quarters. Moloney was quickly left to follow around the fleet-footed Nasukawa, who wisely moved to avoid getting caught by a home run shot.

The sense of frustration by Moloney was clear at the end of the ninth round, growing tired of chasing down his younger foe. Even more irritated was his corner, who urged Moloney to position himself for a knockout headed into the tenth and final round.

Moloney came out firing to start the final frame. A right hand by the fiery veteran clipped Nasukawa on the chin, which prompted Moloney to charge forward. Nasukawa stood his ground when necessary and offered enough of a response with right hooks and a looping left to the body. Moloney continued to apply pressure but Nasukawa was too effective to the body. Both fighters landed up top just before the bell.

Nasukawa extended his hand towards a grinning Moloney before he gently dapped his chest in celebration of an entertaining crossroads match.

Moloney left the ring with his head rightfully held high, though with a touch of uncertainty about his next steps. The loss was his second straight.

Meanwhile, Nasukawa stared into his future as Takei joined him in the ring. Dressed in all black, the defending WBO tiltist accepted a compliment from Nasukawa as the two acknowledged that a meeting was inevitable.

Nasukawa entered the fight as the No. 6 bantamweight contender with the WBO, but with plenty of room to advance.

Former WBC flyweight titlist Daigo Higa (21-3-2, 19 KOs) fought to a draw against WBA 118-pound titlist Seiya Tsutsumi (12-0-2, 8 KOs) earlier on the show.

David Cuellar (28-0, 18 KOs), The Ring's No. 8 bantamweight, is the WBO No. 2 contender. However, the unbeaten Mexican challenges WBC titlist Junto Nakatani (29-0, 22 KOs), The Ring's No. 1 bantamweight and No. 9 pound-for-pound fighter, in the main event.

That said, Nasukawa won't need a mandatory position to land his first title fight. His popularity and extensive combat sports background immediately thrust him into the boxing limelight. Monday's hard-earned win has now positioned him for a shot at divisional hardware.