Riku Masuda will face Daigo Higa for the WBA “regular” bantamweight title at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan on Monday, July 20, 2026. The tripleheader, announced by Japanese streaming platform U-NEXT, also features Kenshiro Teraji taking on Israel Gonzalez for the vacant WBO super flyweight title. Rounding out the championship billing, Shokichi Iwata will make his first WBC light flyweight title defense against the undefeated Erik Badillo.
The card represents a significant re-shuffling of the lower weight classes in Japan. Riku Masuda, a 28-year-old southpaw with a 10-1 record, enters as the WBA’s top-ranked contender after stopping the legendary Nonito Donaire in eight rounds this past March. His only professional defeat came against Seiya Tsutsumi in 2023.
Tsutsumi was originally expected to remain in the title picture but is currently sidelined with an injury, according to Teiken Promotions, who represent light flyweight champion Shokichi Iwata.
Kenshiro Teraji eyes third division title against Israel Gonzalez
Daigo Higa, the 30-year-old former world champion, comes into the bout after a series of championship draws. Though he briefly flirted with retirement following a stalemate with Arturo Cardenas level competitors and top bantamweights like Antonio Vargas, he returns for a fourth consecutive shot at a world title.
Both men boast a 90% knockout ratio, suggesting a high probability of a stoppage in the 12-round main event.
The co-main event sees 34-year-old Kenshiro Teraji attempt to capture a world title in a third weight class. Teraji, who has dominated the light flyweight and flyweight ranks for years, is formally moving to the 115-pound super flyweight division.
He was initially slated to face Willibaldo Garcia for the IBF belt, but that arrangement collapsed after Garcia suffered an injury and failed to meet a mandatory defense deadline against Andrew Moloney.
Kenshiro Teraji enters the ring following a narrow split-decision loss to Ricardo Rafael Sandoval on July 30, 2025. That defeat halted his momentum at flyweight, but his pedigree as a former unified king makes him a formidable threat at super flyweight.
He faces Mexico’s Israel “Jiga” Gonzalez, a 29-year-old veteran who is considerably more battle-tested than his age suggests, having already logged 251 professional rounds compared to Teraji’s 209.
Israel Gonzalez holds a distinct physical advantage, standing an inch taller and possessing a 4-inch reach advantage over Teraji. Despite these attributes, Gonzalez has historically struggled at the elite level, losing four previous world title attempts to the likes of Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.
For Teraji, the challenge will be overcoming the size of a natural 115-pounder while maintaining the volume that made him a pound-for-pound mainstay.
Shokichi Iwata begins WBC light flyweight title reign
Shokichi Iwata, promoted by Teiken Promotions, will defend his WBC light flyweight crown for the first time on the undercard. Iwata reclaimed world title status by stopping former minimumweight champion Knockout CP Freshmart, a victory that erased the memory of losing his previous WBO belt to Rene Santiago.
With a 16-2 record and 13 knockouts, Iwata has established himself as one of the most dangerous punchers in the 108-pound division.
His challenger, Erik Badillo, arrives with an unblemished 19-0 record and eyes an upset on foreign soil. Badillo earned his mandatory position after a convincing victory over former titlist Elwin “Pulga” Soto in November. While Badillo lacks Iwata’s raw power, his undefeated record suggests a high level of technical discipline that could frustrate the champion if the fight progresses into the later rounds.
And yet, the pressure remains on the 30-year-old champion to show he can maintain his title. Internal competition in the lighter weights is fierce, and a loss here would likely end Iwata’s hopes for a major unification bout in late 2026.
If he manages a successful defense, he may eventually look toward stars like Shakur Stevenson who dominate the higher weight classes’ headlines, though his focus remains solely on the 108-pound landscape for now.
Tokyo tripleheader shifts the bantamweight landscape
The July 20 event comes at a confusing time for the WBA bantamweight rankings. While Jesse Rodriguez recently claimed the “full” WBA world title, the Masuda-Higa bout will be for the “regular” version of the belt.
Teiken Promotions has clarified that this peculiar timeline exists because of Tsutsumi’s injury and uncertainty regarding whether Rodriguez will stay at bantamweight to unify or move up to challenge Naoya Inoue.
Japanese boxing fans have grown accustomed to these multi-title extravaganzas at the Ryogoku Kokugikan. Much like the anticipation surrounding the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua clash in the heavyweight division, domestic interest in Masuda and Teraji ensures a massive audience on U-NEXT. The results of these three fights will likely dictate the championship trajectory for the lower weight classes through the end of the year.
So, the stakes are remarkably high for all six fighters involved. Masuda needs to prove he is a legitimate successor in the bantamweight division, while Teraji fights to extend a legendary career into a new weight class. With three world titles on the line, the July 20 tripleheader stands as the most significant boxing event in Tokyo this summer.
