Takuma Inoue vs. Tenshin Nasukawa 2, Zuffa at the Copper 'Bosh' and more: 5 things to watch for the boxing weekend

If you’re worn down by contract disputes, vacated titles and the general soap opera of boxing politics, then I’ve got some good news for you: this weekend actually involves fighting!

style="text-align: left;">We've cast the net wide in search of the best of it, hauling in catches from London to Tokyo and everywhere in between worth your time.

style="text-align: left;">Let’s check in on the top five things to watch this weekend in boxing.

1. Inoue and Nasukawa run it back in TokyoTen months. That's how long the truce lasted.

style="text-align: left;">WBC bantamweight king Takuma Inoue (22-2, 5 KOs) and Japan's reigning golden boy, Tenshin Nasukawa (8-1, 3 KOs), are back at it this weekend — returning to the same Tokyo venue, with the same 118-pound title on the line.

style="text-align: left;">In the interim, neither man has exactly been twiddling his thumbs.

style="text-align: left;">Inoue took care of business against the grizzled Kazuto Ioka back in May, while Nasukawa did something rather more eye-catching, seeing off Juan Francisco Estrada in an April performance good enough, apparently, to shove this whole rematch several months up the calendar.

style="text-align: left;">Is Round 13 arriving a touch prematurely? The Toyota Arena will host that very debate on Sunday.

style="text-align: left;">It’s important not to undersell what Nasukawa represents here. Fifty-three fights, multiple disciplines, zero losses — at least, not until Inoue came along and spoiled the run — and somewhere along the way he stopped being a boxer and became a small industry in his own right.

style="text-align: left;">Inoue counters with pedigree (that surname carries weight for a reason) and a bantamweight ledger that speaks for itself. He's only 30 years old, mind you, which means there's every chance the best of him hasn't shown up yet.

style="text-align: left;">Who’s made the necessary adjustments to get over the line? This one isn’t to be missed.

Can Japan's Tenshin Nasukawa capture his first boxing world title?YUICHI YAMAZAKI via Getty Images2. Zuffa Boxing head to the Copper “Bosh” for FisherI didn’t have Johnny Fisher (14-1, 12 KOs) headlining a Zuffa Boxing show on my 2026 boxing bingo card, I must admit.

style="text-align: left;">The likable, well-followed and well-supported Romford fighter tops Zuffa Boxing 11 on Saturday night inside London’s Copper Box — renamed, for Johnny, the Copper “Bosh” thanks to the term he and his viral father gained notoriety for.

style="text-align: left;">The man in the opposite corner is Michael Pirotton (12-2, 6 KOs), who hails from Belgium and has fought in the likes of Mauritius, Saudi Arabia and South Africa across his past four fights, dropping two losses to men who are as similarly unheralded as the 30-year-old challenger.

style="text-align: left;">Whether this card, and the eye-watering sum Fisher has been paid, is just a ploy from Dana White to annoy Eddie Hearn remains to be seen — an expensive one, at that.

style="text-align: left;">But heavyweights are, by their nature, fun. And Fisher will be headhunting for a victory on Saturday that throws him back into the title mix at a fringe level.

3. Richards and Kalajdzic meet in this weekend’s pick ‘em fightNow we’re talking.

style="text-align: left;">If Fisher-Pirotton doesn’t tickle your taste buds on Saturday, then check out the co-main support in London between Craig “Spider” Richards and Radivoje Kalajdzic.

style="text-align: left;">Richards (20-4-1, 13 KOs) has a bit of a traffic light record of late, running 5-3-1 since 2019. But with back-to-back wins for the first time in seven years, the 36-year-old is once again on the verge of a big opportunity at light heavyweight.

style="text-align: left;">A notable win over Dan Azeez in Ghana in December grabbed Dana White and Zuffa’s attention, and “Spider” has been rewarded with a fight against a guy known as the contract killer — well, to Oleksandr Gvozdyk, at least.

style="text-align: left;">Kalajdzic (30-3, 22 KOs) spoiled Gvozdyk’s Zuffa debut in February thanks to a seventh-round TKO, after which Zuffa dropped the Ukrainian after just one fight.

style="text-align: left;">At age 35 himself, this is also a case of last chance saloon at the tail end of Kalajdzic’s career. Expect this one to be nip and tuck from the opening bell in a tight clash of styles.

4. Goodman and Nishida fight for the interim IBF super bantamweight beltSam Goodman is off into enemy territory this weekend in an attempt to rip the IBF’s interim super bantamweight title from under the nose of Ryosuke Nishida.

style="text-align: left;">Goodman (22-1, 8 KOs) is on the rebound after a solitary career defeat to Nick Ball in 2025, returning home to wins in Australia since against Tyler Blizzard and Rodrigo Fabian Ruiz.

style="text-align: left;">His career could have looked a lot different, of course. A twice-cancelled bout with Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue means Goodman’s name is known on Japanese shores, but his fighting ability remains a mystery.

style="text-align: left;">Until this weekend, as he looks to add another loss to Nishida’s record — 11-1, 2 KOs — after the southpaw was stopped in six rounds by Junto Nakatani. But Goodman would do well not to read too much into this result.

style="text-align: left;">Nakatani’s power proved too much for the 30-year-old last summer, but he has displayed excellent boxing fundamentals away from this loss.

style="text-align: left;">This is another tough fight to call, adding to the slate of coin tosses across the weekend.

5. Thailand’s only world champion defends his 108-pound crownThanongsak Simsri (40-1, 35 KOs) is Thailand’s only reigning world champion.

style="text-align: left;">The 26-year-old holds the IBF’s light flyweight title, having captured it last June, and heads into the weekend fighting in Japan for the third time in a row, defending against Filipino Mark Vicelles (21-2-1, 11 KOs).

style="text-align: left;">At the foot of Mount Fuji inside the Fujianmesse, Simsri is attempting to build on an impressive 41-fight record that has seen just one loss in eight years of high activity.

style="text-align: left;">That solitary defeat came against Masamichi Yabuki in 2022, and Simsri has since strung together 15 more victories.

style="text-align: left;">Vicelles stands in the way of bigger-money unification opportunities at 108 pounds, with fellow champions Daiya Kira, Rene Santiago, Shokichi Iwata all waiting in the wings.