{"id":180713,"date":"2026-04-15T14:08:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T20:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wbcboxing.com\/?p=180713"},"modified":"2026-04-15T17:28:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T23:28:27","slug":"round-12-a-great-night-of-boxing-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wbcboxing.com\/en\/round-12-a-great-night-of-boxing-in-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a0Round 12: A Great Night of Boxing in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Round 12: A Great Night of Boxing in Japan<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By Mauricio Sulaim\u00e1n \/ WBC President \/ Son of Jos\u00e9 Sulaim\u00e1n<\/p>\n

I am writing to you from Japan, after spending some incredible days witnessing a truly marvelous event. The magic of boxing shone with renewed intensity here\u2014a land that breathes discipline, honor, and a deep-rooted passion for our sport.<\/p>\n

The recent card will be remembered as a historic night, where the talent, technique, and heart of both Japanese and Mexican fighters combined for a simply extraordinary evening.<\/p>\n

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One of the central protagonists was Tenshin Nasukawa, who delivered an incredible performance against one of the great Mexican warriors of our era, Juan Francisco “Gallo” Estrada.<\/p>\n

Nasukawa dominated the WBC\u2019s number-one ranked bantamweight, who fought with all his soul. With this victory, Tenshin has officially become the WBC mandatory challenger in the bantamweight division.<\/p>\n

Regarding “Gallo” Estrada, we can only offer recognition for his brilliant career. With 50 fights under his belt, he has been a world champion in two divisions and held our Green and Gold belt in the super flyweight category. Following such an exemplary career, Juan Francisco will need a few days of rest before discussing his future, but we are immensely proud of everything he has achieved as a boxer, keeping the name of Mexico at the highest level.<\/p>\n

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Tenshin, having won the final eliminator, now awaits his opportunity to become the WBC Bantamweight Champion. He must wait to see who his opponent will be; the current champion, Takuma Inoue, is set to defend his title on May 2nd against Kazuto Ioka.<\/p>\n

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On that same Saturday card, our dear Pedro Guevara\u00a0was unable to continue his bout against Tomoya Tsuboi\u00a0following an accidental clash of heads. “Pedr\u00edn” could not finish the fight and received medical attention in the ring. To rule out any complications, he was taken to the hospital for tests, including a CT scan. Fortunately, he is stable. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back in the ring soon.<\/p>\n

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Taking advantage of my visit, I met with Akihiko Honda, one of the most respected boxing promoters in the world. I also visited the Teiken Gym, which is currently celebrating 100 years of greatness under Mr. Honda’s leadership.<\/p>\n

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While in Japan, we learned that George Morikawa, creator of the famous anime Hajime No Ippo<\/em>, had been hospitalized with health issues. Fortunately, he has been discharged and is now recovering at home. Morikawa brought boxing to the world through manga and anime. As a sign of respect and well wishes for his recovery, all the boxers from Saturday’s card signed a WBC mini-belt, which we will deliver to him.<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium\u00a0in London, a massive event took place headlined by Tyson Fury, who returned from a 16-month retirement to completely dominate and defeat Russia\u2019s Arslanbek Makhmudov. The atmosphere surrounding the event was spectacular\u2014the show, the fights, the lights, the pyrotechnics, and Fury\u2019s entrance were all wonderful. The former WBC Heavyweight Champion proved his quality in the ring, where we will surely see him again.<\/p>\n

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What we witnessed in Tokyo and London confirms that both cities are established epicenters of world boxing. The respectful and passionate fans created an unrivaled atmosphere, and the organization of both events reflected the highest professional standards.<\/p>\n

Events like these remind us why we love boxing. Beyond the results, we celebrate the competitive spirit, the mutual respect between warriors, and the sport’s ability to unite thousands of people. Boxing is more alive than ever.<\/p>\n

Did you know\u2026?<\/p>\n

The fight between Tenshin Nasukawa and Juan Francisco “Gallo” Estrada made it clear that there were two great warriors in the ring willing to do anything for their dreams. “Gallo” fought with two broken ribs, and by the end of the ninth round, it became nearly impossible for him to breathe, which is why he decided not to continue.<\/p>\n

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Today\u2019s Anecdote<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don Jos\u00e9 always praised the determination and character of Mexican boxers. He described them as authentic warriors with brave hearts who leave their last breath on the canvas in pursuit of victory.<\/p>\n

“Gallo” Estrada confirmed my father\u2019s words: a man who gave every last ounce of effort to win, until the severity of his injuries made it impossible to go on, forcing him to concede to the Japanese star.<\/p>\n

I welcome your comments at contact@wbcboxing.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Round 12: A Great Night of Boxing in Japan By Mauricio Sulaim\u00e1n \/ WBC President \/ Son of Jos\u00e9 Sulaim\u00e1n I am writing to you from [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":179481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[122,121,120],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-180713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-main-news","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wbcboxing.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wbcboxing.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wbcboxing.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wbcboxing.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wbcboxing.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wbcboxing.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wbcboxing.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wbcboxing.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wbcboxing.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wbcboxing.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}