SEIYA Tsutsumi is the new WBA bantamweight champion after defeating Takuma Inoue by unanimous decision in the Ariake Arena. The judges gave various score totals, ranging from 117-110 to 114-113 with a 115-112 thrown in. Regardless of how they arrived at their conclusions, the right man got the nod in a bout that included cuts, dubious knockdowns, and furious exchanges.
Inoue looked better when taking centre ring and relying on his left jab and upper body movement to sustain him. Unfortunately for Naoya’s younger brother, he was in against an opponent who set a high pace and was able to keep it going from first bell until last.
Tsutsumi briefly halted the aggressive action and took a little walk at the tail end of the third once Inoue landed a whipping uppercut to put him back on the leash. However, this pitbull was not so easily tamed. Things settled down until the fifth, which descended into a bar room brawl as Tsutsumi continued to apply frenzied pressure.
The main question was: could Tsutsumi maintain such a persistent pace? The answer was yes, he could and did. Inoue even suffered a contested round 10 knockdown as he used the ropes for leverage.
Now 12-0-2 (8 KOs), Tsutsumi suffered a small cut to the left eye. The beaten man, Takuma Inoue, is now 20-2 (5 KOs) and just came up against a fighter so determined that he would not be denied.
“I dedicated my whole life to this whole moment exactly,” said an emotional Tsutsumi after 12 rounds of immense effort.
“Every round my trainer and my friends and family cheered me up and I had to do it one [round] at a time, one at a time. I’m very thankful and I respect [Inoue] the most. It feels surreal to me and I can’t believe it now.”
The interviewer raised an interesting point afterwards, revealing that Tsutsumi was born in 1995, the ‘Golden Age’ of the bantamweight champion as he became the seventh Japanese fighter born in that year to win a world title.
Potential future opponents for the new king include WBO bantamweight holder Yoshiki Takei, who won his belt from Jason Moloney and was last seen defeating Daigo Higa in September.