Takuma Inoue

Takuma Inoue is a Japanese bantamweight who has established himself among the division's leading figures by capturing world honours at the highest level. An orthodox fighter from Zama and based in Yokohama, Inoue is the WBC bantamweight world champion; he won the vacant WBC title on 24 November 2025 and successfully defended it on 2 May 2026. His professional record stands at 22 wins and 2 losses, with five stoppage victories. Inoue made his professional debut in December 2013 and steadily climbed through regional ranks before stepping into world title contention. Early in his career he moved through the super-flyweight division, winning the vacant OPBF super-flyweight title in July 2015 and recording several successful defences. Those years featured a mix of clearance victories and decision wins, including stoppages that showcased his finishing ability in multiple weight divisions. By 2018 Inoue had positioned himself inside global eliminator territory. That year he won a WBC eliminator and later captured the vacant WBC interim bantamweight title, marking his transition fully into the bantamweight class and opening the door to world title opportunities. In November 2019 he took his first full world title shot against Nordine Oubaali for the WBC bantamweight world title but came up short by unanimous decision. Rather than derail his momentum, that experience was a turning point: Inoue rebuilt his résumé through regional honours and international fights, collecting the OPBF and WBO Asia Pacific belts across the super-flyweight and super-bantamweight divisions and returning to title contention at bantamweight. In April 2023 Inoue captured the WBA bantamweight world title with a unanimous decision over Liborio Solís. He defended that WBA title with a high-profile stoppage of Jerwin Ancajas in February 2024 and followed with a unanimous decision defence in May 2024. In October 2024 he lost the WBA bantamweight title to Seiya Tsutsumi by unanimous decision. After regaining form, Inoue fought for the vacant WBC bantamweight world title on 24 November 2025, defeating Tenshin Nasukawa by unanimous decision to claim the green belt. He then solidified his position at the top of the division with a successful title defence against former world champion Kazuto Ioka by unanimous decision at the Tokyo Dome on 2 May 2026. Across a career that has taken him from regional OPBF gold to two separate world title runs, Inoue has combined technical boxing and selective power—his five stoppage wins include notable finishes such as a ninth-round KO of Jerwin Ancajas and early-round knockouts and technical knockouts at regional level. Active and holding the WBC bantamweight title, Takuma Inoue remains a central figure in the division with a record of 22-2-0 (5 KOs).