Boxing divisional rankings: Takuma Inoue retains title and No. 3 spot at bantamweight

Takuma Inoue retained the WBC bantamweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Tenshin Nasukawa on Sunday in Tokyo. The fight was a rematch of their November 2025 title bout, which Inoue also won by unanimous decision.

Referee Michael Griffing appeared to miss two potential knockdowns. Inoue went down in Round 3 after a left hand from Nasukawa landed on the side of his head, but no knockdown was ruled. Griffing applied the same decision when Inoue sent Nasukawa to the canvas with a left hand in Round 4.

Nasukawa scored a knockdown in Round 7, sending Inoue down with a straight left hand, but Inoue recovered. Inoue went on to win by scorecards of 114-113, 116-111 and 116-111.

Both fighters retain their respective spots in the bantamweight rankings.

In the co-main event, Sam Goodman defeated Ryosuke Nishida by unanimous decision to win the vacant interim IBF junior featherweight title.

Goodman was aggressive from the start of the fight, outworking Nishida. The fight was mostly fought at close range, where Goodman landed powerful short left hooks and right uppercuts. Nishida was deducted two points by referee Deon Dwarte for low blows, and Goodman was deducted a point for leading with his head.

Goodman, who won by scorecards of 116-109, 115-110 and 114-111 moves up to No. 3 at junior featherweight. Nishida, who has lost two of his past three fights, drops two spots to No. 8.

Also on the card, Ricardo Malajika won the vacant WBC junior bantamweight title with a split decision over Tomoya Tsuboi. Tsuboi suffered two cuts caused by accidental head clashes, but he led on the official scorecards after eight rounds. But Malajika rallied and won by scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 113-115.

Malajika enters the 115-pound rankings at No. 6, while Tsuboi drops to No. 7.

On Saturday in Tokyo, IBF junior flyweight champion Thanongsak Simsri dropped Mark Vicelles twice in Round 2, forcing referee Koji Tanaka to stop the fight at 2 minutes, 5 seconds.

Simsri moves up one spot to No. 3 in the 108-pound division.

ESPN's divisional boxing rankings highlight the best in the sport in every weight class. Rankings will change based on recent results and performances. Fighters who have announced they are moving to a different weight class will be ranked in that new division, if warranted, only once they fight in that weight class. Fighters who currently own titles in two divisions can be ranked in both.

Fighters who haven't competed in the past 12 months -- and don't have a fight scheduled -- will be dropped from the rankings until they fight again. Any fighter who tests positive for a performance-enhancing substance will also be removed. That boxer will be eligible to reenter the rankings after his next bout.

For a list of the current champions in all weight classes, click here. For ESPN women's divisional rankings, click here.

Jump to this week's changes: Featherweight | Junior featherweight | Junior bantamweight | Junior flyweight

HEAVYWEIGHT (UNLIMITED)

CRUISERWEIGHT (UP TO 200 POUNDS)

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (UP TO 175 POUNDS)

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT (UP TO 168 POUNDS)

MIDDLEWEIGHT (UP TO 160 POUNDS)

JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT (UP TO 154 POUNDS)

WELTERWEIGHT (UP TO 147 POUNDS)

JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHT (UP TO 140 POUNDS)

LIGHTWEIGHT (UP TO 135 POUNDS)

JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHT (UP TO 130 POUNDS)

FEATHERWEIGHT (UP TO 126 POUNDS)

JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHT (UP TO 122 POUNDS)

BANTAMWEIGHT (UP TO 118 POUNDS)

JUNIOR BANTAMWEIGHT (UP TO 115 POUNDS)

FLYWEIGHT (UP TO 112 POUNDS)

JUNIOR FLYWEIGHT (UP TO 108 POUNDS)

STRAWWEIGHT (UP TO 105 POUNDS)