The WBC belt owned by former unified bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani won't be without an owner for too long.

On Monday, the WBC ordered negotiations for a fight between Japan’s Tenshin Nasukawa (7-0-0, 2 KOs), ranked No. 1 by the sanctioning body, and Takuma Inoue (20-2-0, 5 KOs), ranked No. 2. A purse bid is scheduled for Oct. 21 if a deal cannot be reached.

Nakatani, The Ring's No. 7-ranked pound-for-pound fighter, recently announced he would relinquish his Ring, IBF, and WBC titles to move up to 122 pounds.

Nakatani (31-0, 24 KOs) will make his division debut on Dec. 27 against Sebastian Hernandez as part of a Riyadh Season show headlined by Naoya Inoue.

If the undisputed junior featherweight champion Inoue (31-0, 27 KOs) beats David Picasso, and Nakatani handles business against Hernandez, a super fight between the Japanese juggernauts is set to be staged in spring 2026.

Takuma Inoue is the younger brother of Naoya. Takuma hasn't fought since October 2024, when he lost his WBA bantamweight title to Seiya Tsutsumi (12-0-3, 8 KOs) by unanimous decision.

Nasukawa, a former MMA fighter and kickboxer who turned pro in boxing two years ago, outpointed former WBO beltholder Jason Moloney in February before another 10-round points win over Victor Santillan in June.

Nasukawa also notably faced Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a 2018 exhibition and was knocked down three times in the first round before his corner threw in the towel.