Masuda vs Tsutsumi II Headlines Tokyo's November 29th Title Triple

Japan's annual end-of-year title binge is back, and U-Next has stacked the top of it. On November 29th at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan, three championship fights go down, led by a WBA bantamweight rematch between "world" champion Riku Masuda (11-1, 9 KO) and former titlist Seiya Tsutsumi (13-0-3, 8 KO).

If the names ring a bell, they should. Tsutsumi handed Masuda the only loss on his record via unanimous decision back in 2023, when both men were climbing. Masuda has since put together a nine-knockout resume and most recently beat Daigo Higa, the former flyweight champ now sitting 21-4-3 (19 KO). Tsutsumi, meanwhile, still hasn't lost in the ring across 16 fights, so calling this a "rematch" undersells how little got settled the first time.

The Belt Situation Is Messy

Here's the asterisk: Tsutsumi arguably should be in line for a shot at the full WBA strap rather than this diluted version, given he never lost it in the ring. Instead, he's back fighting Masuda for a secondary belt. The sanctioning politics are frustrating, but the matchup itself is clean fire — two aggressive finishers with genuine bad blood and a combined 17 knockouts between them. Expect it to end before the cards matter.

Teraji's First Defense at 115

Three pounds down, multi-weight king Kenshiro Teraji (26-2, 16 KO) makes his first super flyweight defense against Mexico's Jassiel Ramon Amador Gamez (15-0-1, 13 KO). The 25-year-old Amador is unbeaten with a brutal 87% knockout rate, but he's fighting outside his home country for the first time and only his second time beyond Baja California Sur. His level of opposition is thin. Then again, unheralded Mexican punchers have a habit of causing chaos, and Teraji has looked a half-step slower lately.

The third title bout brings its own paperwork drama. WBA 115-pound champ David Jimenez (18-1, 12 KO) defends against former flyweight titlist Seigo Yuri Akui (23-3-1, 13 KO), the man who gave Teraji a Fight of the Year candidate last year. The catch: the WBA ordered Jimenez to rematch mandatory John "Scrappy" Ramirez, then granted a "special permit" for this voluntary defense under vaguely described "justified circumstances."

The release never actually explains what those circumstances are. It says the winner must face Ramirez inside 120 days, while simultaneously reserving the body's right to "modify mandatory defense deadlines" — which reads like a loophole wrapped in a loophole. Sanctioning nonsense aside, three live title fights in one of boxing's great venues is a strong way to close the year.