Earlier today in Tokyo we had the press conference to announce the next big Japanese Amazon Prime Video show, “Prime Video Boxing 11" and like the previous shows in the series it’s a bumper card filled with some of the top talent in Japan.
The event, which will be held on February 24th at the Ariake Arena, has had 3 major bouts announced for it.
The “least” significant will see former kick boxing sensation turn fast tracked boxing hopeful
Tenshin Nasukawa (5-0, 2) [那須川天心] take on former WBO Bantamweight world champion
Jason Moloney (27-3, 19), who faces his third fourth Japanese fighter having previously beaten Kohei Kono, and lost to
Naoya Inoue and Yoshiki Takei. This bout, scheduled for 10 rounds, is a massive step up for Tenshin, but a win puts him within touching distance of a world title fight later in the year, and will serve as a genuine gut check against one of the top Bantamweight contenders. As for Moloney the bout sees him returning to Japan for a second successive bout, following his loss to Takei, which saw him almost stopping Takei in the final round. Notably the bout serves as a potential warm up for either a Moloney Vs Takei rematch, or a Japanese super fight between Takei and Tenshin, which is a fight many in Japan have been calling for, with both being former kick boxing stars.
The first of two world title bouts is actually a rematch as newly crowned WBA Bantamweight champion
Seiya Tsutsumi (12-0-2, 8) [堤聖也] makes his first defense, following his upset win against Takuma Inoue in October, as he takes on former WBC Flyweight champion Daigo Higa (21-3-1, 19) [比嘉 大吾]. Higa had spoken about retirement following a close loss to Takei, but appears to have put that on the back burner for this chance. Tsutsumi and Higa have a background of fighting in the amatuers, but it’s their 2020 bout which will be the focal point here, a bout that ended in a 10 round majority draw. For Tsutusmi it was a second successive draw, and left him 5-0-2 (4) whilst for Higa it left him 16-1-1 (16), and came just 2 fights after he lost the WBC Flyweight title. Given that first bout, we expect to see this one being something very special, between two men who know each other well, have fun, exciting, aggressive styles and could give us an early contender for FOTY.The other world title bout, and what appears to be the main event, will see WBC Bantamweight champion Junto Nakatani (29-0, 22) [中谷 潤人] defending his title against fellow unbeaten David Cuellar Contreras (28-0, 18), form Mexico. The bout will serve as Nakatani’s third defense of the title, and comes exactly 1 year after he won the belt, stopping Alexandro Santiago for the title. As a Bantamweight Nakatani has looked absolutely sensational, stopping Santiago in 6 rounds, Vincent Astrolabio in 1 and Tasana Salapat in 6. As for Cuellar, the bout is his first world title bout and a huge step up in class for someone who has scored notable wins over fighters like Jose Velasquez, Luis Concepcion and Moises Fuentes. The bout is also set to be Cuellar’s first outside of Mexico.
