After a 13-month absence where he considered retirement from the sport altogether, former WBA beltholder Takuma Inoue produced a defiant display to outfox and outsmart Tenshin Nasukawa to become a two-time world champion, winning the WBC 118-pound crown.

116-112, 116-112, 117-111 were the scorecards and no-one could have any complaints about the margin of victory, a deft but deserved unanimous decision during their much-anticipated headliner at Tokyo's brand-new Toyota Arena.

A big overhand left hand in the final seconds almost immediately eradicated Inoue's encouraging first-round work, such was the ease and flow with which it came off Nasukawa as the 27-year-old continues showing new wrinkles to an unconventional, exciting arsenal.

Inoue (21-2, 5 KOs) was on the canvas early in the second round, ruled a slip, and the razor-sharp contender standing across from him was merely gaining confidence with each passing minute as he feinted, faded out and flicked the jab on his back foot momentarily.

Demonstrative and not rushing as he strode back to the corner after six minutes, Nasukawa (7-1, 2 KOs) was shuffling and showboating with his measured punch output, almost as if to make a point to the former champion that this would be another arduous night.

Inoue blocked and dodged out of danger whenever Nasukawa advanced, though couldn't evade a right hand to the body. His response was a proactive one, picking up the pace and controlling centre ring, keeping the younger man honest by landing with hooks to the head.

He followed that up with a big right hand early in the fourth, continuing to press ahead and shrink the ring, almost encouraging exchanges at short-range - where he was defending intelligently and Nasukawa's physical advantages would be far less pronounced.

By virtue of the WBC's open scoring system, the arena announcer confirmed all three judges had this encounter dead even, 38-38, through four rounds and Inoue's timing was key in landing a pair of right hands through the guard midway into another tense stanza.

Inoue jabbed well, kept his defences sharp and flickered a series of right uppercuts late in the sixth as Nasukawa's output had noticeably slowed, as well as the spring in his step.

They exchanged uppercuts in the pocket early in round seven, Inoue couldn't miss behind his right hand and the 29-year-old's subtle foot placement was helping him weave in-and-out of range whenever he pleased as Nasukawa was overtly physical as he grew annoyed.

The eighth followed a similar pattern before an Inoue-powered crowd roar came as the ninth began: 77-75 and 78-74 Inoue scores trumping a 76-76 even card after 24 minutes with the older man still pushing the pace despite fleeting success across him late in the round.

Rounds 10 and 11 weren't much different as Nasukawa couldn't help but watch the clock in the final frame, swinging away with flurries and charging forward but without a fight-altering sequence as time kept ticking by. It was soon Inoue's turn to indulge demonstratively on the back foot, then dodging two haymakers and connecting clean with a series of his own.

Difficult to score, scrappy and a slow-burning affair, Ra'eese Aleem nonetheless scored a 10th-round knockdown en route to a career-best win over previously-unbeaten contender Mikito Nakano in their IBF featherweight title eliminator.

Jeremy Hayes had it closest at 115-112, Giulio Piras slightly wider at 116-111 while Carl Zappia (118-109) only saw enough to give Nakano two rounds as the home favourite was humbled against elite opposition.

Aleem (23-1, 12 KOs) was noticeably twitchy and keen to keep their exchanges at distance as Nakano (14-1, 13 KOs) circled early.

The home hopeful landed the better work, particularly behind his left hand in the fourth round, before they brawled in the pocket late in a closely-fought fifth.

Aleem started to find his range by round six, advancing forward more openly and having success as he fired off a few combinations

Nakano was guilty of following him, rather than closing the distance and shutting off ways to escape with both embracing the need to counterpunch in sequences during the second-half of a competitive clash.

Their back-and-forth dynamic sharply shifted in the tenth as Aleem's aggressiveness was rewarded. He missed a trio of shots but connected on the fourth - a short, sharp overhand right - flat-footed Nakano didn't see it coming and paid the price.

The Toyota Arena crowd were stunned into silence but not for long, Aleem himself having to weather a shaky storm to finish the 11th strong behind a stray right hand - stifling Nakano's attempts at an instant reply.

The 30-year-old southpaw emptied the tank as expected in the final frame, landing his left hand and threatening to floor an off-balance Aleem, though he steadied himself and countered well enough to escape this business trip victorious.

"A lot of training went into this and I'm glad I got the job done. It was a very tough fight, had to be locked in and focused every round, against a strong puncher but I stayed focused. I'm honoured, blessed to be here, this was my fourth or fifth world title eliminator but I've finally punched the ticket to that big fight," he said during his post-fight interview.

Tomoya Tsuboi delivered a signal of his world title intentions with a dominant showing, culminating in an eighth-round stoppage win over former champion Carlos Cuadras.

After contrasting victories over Boonrueang Phayom and Van Thao Tran in the first-half of 2025, the 29-year-old sought a tougher test of his championship credentials and found one in WBC's No. 1-rated junior bantamweight contender Cuadras (44-6-1, 28 KOs).

Cuadras, who made six world title defences (2014-16) and since produced more resume-enhancing wins, told The Ring that if Tsuboi were to beat him, he'd be 'ready to go' for world honours.

He didn't just beat him, he bossed proceedings from minute one to the inevitable ending.

Noticeably slower than his prime, that didn't stop the Mexican veteran from connecting where possible and swinging gamely in the opening frame.

Tsuboi replied in kind by teeing off wherever possible, before the older man was ticked off for straying low in the third. In the same stanza, Tsuboi connected clean on overhand rights as they traded big shots in the pocket - the younger man more successful.

Quicker and sharper with his punches in bunches, he wobbled the 37-year-old and looked fresh after four rounds. Cuadras' face was a cherry red colour by comparison, while Tsuboi didn't discriminate with his punch output - digging downstairs too.

Four and five-punch combinations were being unloaded at a hellacious pace with Tsuboi in full flow, Cuadras' slip to the canvas prompted a vociferous crowd cheer but little more as the punishment continued piling up.

Mercifully referee Nobuto Ikehara had seen enough at 2:59 of round eight, Tsuboi landing a three-punch combo, punctuated by a right hand, which staggered the former champion backwards and he'd seen enough.

In the main card opener, WBA's No. 4-rated bantamweight Riku Masuda (9-1, 8 KOs) heard the judges' scorecards for the first time since defeat by future champion Seiya Tsutsumi in August 2023.

An anticlimactic ending was the cause early in the fifth, after a clash of heads caused a cut over Jose Miguel Calderon's right eye and prompted the ringside doctor to advise an immediate end to a 118-pound offering that was bubbling nicely through four rounds.

49-46 and 48-47 scorecards in Masuda's favour trumped a 48-48 score as the 28-year-old earned a technical majority draw from a fight many will be eager to see again in the new year, particularly given Calderon (14-3, 6 KOs) ate his best and fired back intently.