Seiya Tsutsumi and Nonito Donaire both arrived under the 118-pound limit, setting the stage for a high-stakes bantamweight title clash. Donaire pushed back against Father Time, stepping onto the scale at a ripped 117.75 pounds as he prepared to chase a fourth bantamweight crown. His opponent, the undefeated Seiya Tsutsumi, matched that exact weight, making their WBA bantamweight title consolidating bout a true test of endurance and skill beneath the bright lights of Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan.
Tsutsumi, carrying a pristine 12-0-3 record with 8 knockouts, will put his WBA 118-pound title on the line against the 43-year-old Donaire, who holds the interim version of the same belt. The precise stakes were not fully disclosed when the fight was announced earlier this year, a detail that underscores the professional conduct and willingness of both fighters to embrace difficult matchups.
Tsutsumi now aims to defend his second reign as champion, a title reelected in November after Antonio Vargas could not fulfill the mandatory defense. The swap effectively reversed an earlier decision: Tsutsumi’s WBA belt was reinstated while Vargas was designated Champion in Recess. Vargas had previously earned the full title after Tsutsumi’s injury-delayed progress with the mandatory bout.
To recap the path that brought us here: four months before this anticipated showdown with Higa, Tsutsumi defeated Takuma Inoue to capture the WBA belt. Inoue has since moved on, securing the WBC belt at this weight with a November 24 victory over Tenshin Nasukawa.
Donaire, a veteran at 43 with a 43-8 record and 28 KOs, has captured titles across multiple divisions: flyweight, bantamweight, junior featherweight, and featherweight. The Filipino star based in Las Vegas also held a secondary 115-pound belt and seized an interim WBA 118-pound belt with a June win over Andres Campos in Buenos Aires. That win came on short notice, a testament to Donaire’s exceptional conditioning; this week, he appeared distinctly more cut and battle-ready than in previous short-notice occasions.
In supporting bouts on the same card, Tokyo’s Kyosuke Takami (10-0, 8 KOs) and Puerto Rico’s Rene Santiago (14-4, 9 KOs) stepped on the scale for a highly anticipated 108-pound unification bout. Takami weighed 117.75 pounds, putting his WBA belt on the line for the first time, while Santiago tipped the scales at 107.5 pounds ahead of his first defense of the WBO title he won in an upset over Shokichi Iwata on March 13 at the same venue.
Also featured was Los Angeles’ Anthony Olascuaga (10-1, 7 KOs), returning home for the fourth defense of his WBO 112-pound title. The 28-year-old weighed in at 111.25 pounds, with challenger Taku Kuwahara (14-2, 9 KOs) close behind at 111.75 pounds.
All three main-card bouts are scheduled to stream live on U-Next in Japan, with access in other markets typically requiring a VPN. However, no streaming options were announced for the U.K. or the U.S., meaning fans outside Japan may need to rely on live coverage from BoxingScene on fight night.
Jake Donovan is a veteran journalist who previously served as BoxingScene’s senior writer (2007–2024) and news editor for nine years. He also led The Ring as chief writer before returning to his roots. Follow him on X at https://x.com/JakeNDaBox and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jakendabox_/.
