BoxRec

Tenshin Nasukawa-Juan Estrada tops Amazon Prime-Japan tripleheader in Tokyo

The previously reported Tenshin Nasukawa-Juan Francisco Estrada crossroads clash is now official.

The WBC title eliminator will headline an April 11 Amazon Prime-Japan tripleheader from the famed Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. Mr. Honda’s Teiken Promotions formally announced the event at a press conference held Wednesday in Tokyo.

Also confirmed for the show:

- A pivotal 115lbs clash between Tokyo’s Tomoya Tsuboi, 3-0 (2 KOs) and former 108lbs titleholder Pedro Guevara, 43-5-2 (22 KOs) of Mazatlan, Mexico.

- A two-way flyweight redemption battle between former titlists Kyosuke Takami, 10-1 (8 KOs) and Angel Ayala, 18-1 (8 KOs).

Wednesday’s press conference participation was limited to the local fighters – Nasukawa, Tsuboi and Takami.

Nasukawa, 7-1 (2 KOs) is coming off the first defeat in any sanctioned combat sports bout across three disciplines – boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts. His first shot at a major title instead saw Takuma Inoue claim the vacant WBC 118lbs belt in a convincing points win last November 24 in Tokyo.

The setback hardly discouraged the former kickboxing legend-turned-boxing contender, who is eager to remain at the sport’s highest level.

“I lost for the first time last time, and since then I've had a lot of time and struggles,” admitted Nasukawa. “But I want to make a strong comeback and show everyone a good performance. This is truly a test not only for me in my combat sports career, but also in my everyday life. I feel like I'm on the brink of collapse. I've never felt this way before. I'm working hard every day, growing both physically and mentally. I'm going to get revenge.”

Mexico’s Estrada, 45-4 (28 KOs) will represent by far Nasukawa’s most experienced foe to date. The event itself will mark the first trip to Japan for the former two-division champion and third career fight in Asia. His previous travels abroad included his first career title win, when he outpointed Brian Viloria to win the WBA and WBO 112lbs titles in April 2013.

Estrada was also a two-tour titleholder at 115lbs, though his lineal championship reign went uninterrupted from April 2019 through his June 2024 knockout defeat to current top 5 pound-for-pound entrant Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.

Just one fight has followed for Estrada since that setback, a 10-round, unanimous decision over countryman Karim Arce last June 14 in his Hermosillo hometown.

The co-feature will see the extremely ambitious Tsuboi further push towards his first major title fight. He is currently the No. 1 contender to the WBC 115lbs title held by Rodriguez, 23-0 (16 KOs). The ranking was earned after an 8th round knockout of former WBC titlist Carlos Cuadras on the Inoue-Nasukawa undercard last November.

Guevara previously held the WBC108lbs crown in what seems like another career ago. His run at 115lbs has produced mixed results, including a November 2024 knockout defeat to San Antonio’s Rodriguez in his most recent title bid. He’s 1-0-1 since that night.

Takami briefly held the WBA 108lbs title. His reign stunningly ended in a split decision defeat to WBO titlist Rene Santiago in their unification clash last December 17 at this very venue. The 23-year-old Tokyo native will now campaign at flyweight, against a former IBF titleholder.

Mexico City’s Ayala will make his second straight trip to Japan. The previous occasion ended in disaster, as his IBF 112lbs title reign ended in a 12th round knockout defeat to Masamichi Yabuki last March 29 in Tokoname.

The winner of Nasukawa-Estrada will become the WBC 118lbs mandatory challenger. Meanwhile, reigning titlist Takuma Inoue will make a voluntary title defense on the undercard of older brother Naoya Inoue’s superfight with Junto Nakatani on May 2 at the Tokyo Dome.

Japan vs. Mexico fights underneath Nasukawa-Estrada

Early Wednesday, Teiken Promotions unveiled at a press conference the undercard for the WBC bantamweight title eliminator between Tenshin Nasukawa and Juan Francisco Estrada on April 11.

The event will be broadcast on Prime Video at the Kokugikan in Japan.

The undercard will feature a pair of Japan vs. Mexico fights as fast-rising junior bantamweight Tomoya Tsuboi (3-0, 2 KOs) will face former junior flyweight titlist Pedro Guevara (43-5-2, 22 KOs).

Tsuboi is rated at No. 4 by The Ring at junior bantamweight.

The 29-year-old made his professional debut amid plenty of fanfare, needing two rounds to stop Boonrueang Phayom in March. He followed that by beating Van Thao Tran by decision three months later before taking a considerable step up and stopping veteran former world champion Carlos Cuadras (TKO 8) on November 24.

Guevara, a former WBC champion at 108 pounds, was stopped by Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez (TKO 3) in an attempt to win Ring/WBC titles in 2024.

Elsewhere, Kyosuke Takami (10-1, 8 KOs) will look to bounce back from losing his WBA junior flyweight title when he faces Angel Ayala (18-1, 8 KOs), also trying to rejuvenate his career after losing his IBF flyweight title last year. The crossroads fight will take place at flyweight.

Takami, who is rated No. 4 by The Ring at 108 pounds. Ayala is rated at No. 6 by The Ring at flyweight.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑26 Feb 2026, 05:45 Japan vs. Mexico fights underneath Nasukawa-Estrada war the knights

Early Wednesday, Teiken Promotions unveiled at a press conference the undercard for the WBC bantamweight title eliminator between Tenshin Nasukawa and Juan Francisco Estrada on April 11.

The event will be broadcast on Prime Video at the Kokugikan in Japan.

The undercard will feature a pair of Japan vs. Mexico fights as fast-rising junior bantamweight Tomoya Tsuboi (3-0, 2 KOs) will face former junior flyweight titlist Pedro Guevara (43-5-2, 22 KOs).

Tsuboi is rated at No. 4 by The Ring at junior bantamweight.

The 29-year-old made his professional debut amid plenty of fanfare, needing two rounds to stop Boonrueang Phayom in March. He followed that by beating Van Thao Tran by decision three months later before taking a considerable step up and stopping veteran former world champion Carlos Cuadras (TKO 8) on November 24.

Guevara, a former WBC champion at 108 pounds, was stopped by Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez (TKO 3) in an attempt to win Ring/WBC titles in 2024.

Elsewhere, Kyosuke Takami (10-1, 8 KOs) will look to bounce back from losing his WBA junior flyweight title when he faces Angel Ayala (18-1, 8 KOs), also trying to rejuvenate his career after losing his IBF flyweight title last year. The crossroads fight will take place at flyweight.

Takami, who is rated No. 4 by The Ring at 108 pounds. Ayala is rated at No. 6 by The Ring at flyweight.

Thank you so much!

Fight week!!

This sounds like a really good card. I wonder what Estrada has left at 35. He hasn’t beaten a top opponent without controversy (bad scoring vs Gonzalez) in five or so years

WBC Press Release

The boxing world sets its sights on the iconic Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, where a golden chapter in the historic rivalry between Mexico and Japan will be written this Saturday, April 11th. It will be a WBC final eliminator in the bantamweight division, as the legendary Juan Francisco “Gallo” Estrada (45-4, 28 KOs), a former two-division champion and one of the most respected warriors of the last decade, arrives in Japan with a clear mission: to defeat sporting and media phenomenon Tenshin Nasukawa (7-1, 2 KOs) . Nasukawa will be facing the most rigorous test of his professional career, a high-stakes showdown that will determine the official challenger for the reigning WBC monarch, Takuma Inoue.

Having faced the greatest names in contemporary boxing, the aging Estrada (pitcutred) seeks to reaffirm his elite status and join the select group of legends who have captured world titles in three different divisions. Age 35, Estrada scored a trmendous win against a fellow Hall of Famer to be, Roman Gonzalez, in a superflyweight championship bout in 2022. But he has only fought twicw since then, going 1-1.

Following a brave previous attempt against Takuma Inoue, the Japanese idol Nasukawa has focused his training on mobility and speed to decipher the technical and aggressive style of the Sonoran warrior.

The fight will be broadcast on ESPN KnockOut and Disney+ (Latin America), Prime Video Boxing 15 (Japan).

The undercard features high-impact bouts that reinforce the sporting brotherhood between both nations: Tomoya Tsuboi vs. Pedro Guevara: a clash of experience and youth in the super flyweight division.... Kyosuke Takami vs. Ángel “Camaleón” Ayala: a strategic flyweight duel that promises fireworks.

giacomino wrote: ↑06 Apr 2026, 07:58 This sounds like a really good card. I wonder what Estrada has left at 35. He hasn’t beaten a top opponent without controversy (bad scoring vs Gonzalez) in five or so years

True, but Tenshin was outclassed by Inoue. Could be anybodys fight.

Tsuboi is also very interesting. He is one of the few newcomers I'm interested in. Without Bam, he could be a champion in this next fight.
Hopefully Bam goes up to fight the winner of Inoue/Nakatani next. Win-win for all of us

read that this has been picked up by DAZN.

Juan Francisco Estrada hopes experience wins the day against Nasukawa

Future Hall of Famer Juan Francisco Estrada is in the veteran stage of his career.

The two-weight world champion has likely forgotten more about boxing than his upcoming opponent Tenshin Nasukawa will ever know about the sport.

The two headline in a scheduled 12-round bantamweight contest at Kokugikan, Tokyo, on April 11.

"It should be a really good fight and it's a fight with a lot of significance for us since it's an eliminator to be the mandatory to fight for the WBC bantamweight title against Takuma Inoue," Estrada (45-4, 28 KOs) told The Ring. "I'm very motivated and ready to do whatever it takes to get the win.

"I think he's gonna be a difficult opponent to face because of his style and quickness, since he's a southpaw. Plus, I think he'll give it his all to try to pull off a win in his home country."

Estrada, who has been a professional for 15 years longer than Nasukawa and has 41 more professional bouts than his rival, believes that will be the key to victory for him.

"I think he lacks experience in professional boxing, and I see that as a big advantage for me in my 49-fight career," he stated. "I'm ready to put on a great fight for Japan and the world to see."

However, it should be noted that the Mexican turns 36 three days after the fight and has been plagued by injuries throughout his career.

Has that taken something from him or has that allowed him to extend his prime? This fight will give us an idea of which of those is true.

"I have definitely had to deal with some injuries throughout my career, but thanks to God I've been able to overcome them," he said. "There's been times where I've had to fight with existing injuries, but you have to be able to deal with that and figure out a way to put on a good fight and pull off a victory."

"I think some of the injuries have affected my level of activity at times, but I try to maintain a good level of physical training and physical therapy to keep moving forward."

He looks at the injuries in two different ways.

"On one hand, I feel like I might have been able to win more titles and in general have more fights if I hadn't had the issues with my broken jaw and hand surgery," he said. "On the other hand, having long layoffs may turn out to be helpful in being able to have a longer career and training camps would've meant more wear and tear early on."

Estrada spent 18 months out of the ring prior to losing to Jesse Rodriguez (KO 7) in June 2024 and that was followed another 12 months on the sidelines.

He then resumed his career and jumped to bantamweight last June and beat Karim Arce (UD 10) to breathe new life into his career.

"I felt good and I felt strong fighting at 118 last time around," he noted. "I think moving up a division will be very beneficial for me and I'm looking forward to another big fight at bantamweight.

"I think not having to lose the extra pounds to make 115, combined with my experience, will result in another victory for me in this new division."

Estrada also decided he needed a new voice in the corner and is now working with German and Alfredo Leon as well as Orlando Plascencia and has held his camp at altitude in Mexico City.

Estrada is motivated to try to win another world title but first must get by Nasukawa.

"Thanks to God I have been fortunate to win world titles in two divisions, at 112 and 115pounds, and now that I move up to 118 that is my main objective, to win a world title in this new weight division, and this fight will be a great eliminator to face off against Takuma Inoue," he said.

"I'm ready to do whatever it takes to defeat Tenshin Nasukawa to move on and fight for the WBC bantamweight world title."

Nasukawa (7-1, 2 KOs) came to prominence after a standout MMA and kickboxing career. The soon to be 27-year-old engaged in an exhibition against boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2018.

He reverted to boxing in April 2023. Since then, he has improved immeasurably and notably has wins over Jason Moloney (UD 10) and Victor Santillan (UD 10) but is coming off a loss when he fought Takuma Inoue (UD 12) for the vacant WBC title on November 24.

If you’re in the UK, this one’s an early one tomorrow.

Date: April 11, 2026
Location: Ryogoku Kokugikan - Tokyo, Japan
TV/Stream: Prime Video (Japan)
Time: 5 pm JST | 4 am ET | 1 am PT | 9 am BST

Fight Card

12 Round WBC Bantamweight Title Eliminator Bout
Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Juan Francisco Estrada

10 Round Super Flyweight Bout
Tomoya Tsuboi vs. Pedro Guevara

10 Round Flyweight Bout
Kyosuke Takami vs. Angel Ayala Lardizabal

10 Round Bantamweight Bout
Katsuma Akitsugi vs. Jose Miguel Calderon Cervantes

6 Round Lightweight Bout
Keita Kubotera vs. Crisaldy Beltran

Kubotera stopped Beltran in the opening bout on this card. Competitive fight. Stoppage seemed a tad fast as Beltran had landed quite a few solid shots himself.

Akitsugi dominating Calderon through 2 rounds. Had him hurt on a few occasions toward the end of the 2nd.

2-0 Akitsugi

I still got Akitsugi winning all the rounds, but it became a fight in the 4th and Calderon started getting through with a few head snapping right hands of his own. Tide could turn, but right now Akitsugi is still ahead.

4-0 Akitsugi

Calderon has really come alive now. Akitsugi seems a bit fatigued, Calderon is now getting through with a lot more jabs, straight rights and lead left uppercuts.

4-1 Akitsugi, but the momentum seems to be with Calderon.

Great round in the 6th with Calderon continuing the attack he started in the 5th, but Akitsugi fighting like hell to try to stop his momentum, and not let it get too one sided. Calderon won that round, but had to work for it.

4-2 Akitsugi

Big round for Calderon in the 7th. He's actually landing combinations in there, not just single punches.

4-3 Akitsugi

Another for Calderon. Akitsugi better be finding his 2nd wind fast if he's gonna turn this thing back his way.

4-4 even

Might be a draw here. Calderon continued doing well in the 9th, Akitsugi found whatever he had left and fought a spirited round in the 10th to take that one.

I got it even 95-95

Official decision: 95-95, 96-94 2x for Calderon

Winner by Majority decision Jose Calderon

Pedro Guevara vs Tomoya Tsuboi up next

Looks like this is gonna be a No Contest. An accidental headbutt caused Guevara to go down I assume with a concussion, possibly something even worse, but he wasn't able to get up after the clash of heads, and the referee had no choice but to halt the bout.

The Japanese Commission didn't seem particularly prepared with a proper Medical team around or anything.

Apparently it's a Technical Draw. So the rule in Japan for such an occasion is the bout to be declared a Technical Draw, which is essentially the same as a No Contest.

An inconclusive finish to a bout that wasn't able to come to a natural conclusion.

Main event now

Good opening round for Nasukawa. He looks strong in there.

1-0 Nasukawa