Seiya Tsutsumi has mandatory challenger named
This past Friday once beaten American Antonio Vargas (19-1, 11) claimed the WBA “interim” Bantamweight title stopping the previously unbeaten Nicaraguan Winston Guerrero (22-1, 13) in a bout that saw both men being dropped before Guerrero was stopped in round 10.
Just days after that bout it was reported, by the always excellent Carlos Linares, that the WBA had announced that Vargas would face WBA “regular” champion Seiya Tsutsumi (12-0-2, 8) [堤聖也], who won the title in a mandatory title bout against Takuma Inoue (20-2, 5) [井上拓真] on October 13th.
Just days after that bout it was reported, by the always excellent Carlos Linares, that the WBA had announced that Vargas would face WBA “regular” champion Seiya Tsutsumi (12-0-2, 8) [堤聖也], who won the title in a mandatory title bout against Takuma Inoue (20-2, 5) [井上拓真] on October 13th.
‼️ WBA Congress
— Carlos Linares (@linares_ca_93) December 16, 2024
Antonio Vargas ha sido declarado rival mandatorio para el Campeón Japonés Seiya Tsutsumi. Vargas derrotó por TKO el pasado viernes 13 al nicaragüense Winston Guerrero, y se apoderó del Campeonato Mundial Interino del organismo. #Boxing
The bout, if it goes ahead next, would be Tsutsumi’s first defense and see him look to build on his break out performance against Inoue, where he was a major under-dog, and down on the cards early on before his relentless pressure and work rate began to get to Inoue and he managed to dethrone the “Monster’s” little brother.
On paper it should be a great fight between two talented fighters, with very different attributes and styles. Vargas is a tidy fighter with good power of his own, good technical skills and aggressive style, though a questionable chin which has seen him being stopped in his sole loss, back in 2019, and being dropped, in each of his last 2 fights. Tsutsumi is a less polished fighter, who is often happy to throw 3 to land one if he needs to, with a hyper aggressive style, a solid chin, and a high work rate. Between the two it should be a really fan friendly bout.
Despite the bout being set as a mandatory it’s unclear, at the time of writing, whether the bout will be next or not, given Tsutsumi won the title in a mandatory, and it’s rare for the WBA to have a back to back mandatory defenses, is unclear. If it is, it’s a great chance for Tsutsumi to build on his profile, which jumped massively with his win over Inoue, and his first fight against a fighter from North America. As for Vargas it would be his first bout against a Japanese fighter, and a major step up in class for a man who’s best wins have been against Guerrero, Jonathan Gonzalez and and a long, long way, past his best Hernan "Tyson" Marquez.
On paper it should be a great fight between two talented fighters, with very different attributes and styles. Vargas is a tidy fighter with good power of his own, good technical skills and aggressive style, though a questionable chin which has seen him being stopped in his sole loss, back in 2019, and being dropped, in each of his last 2 fights. Tsutsumi is a less polished fighter, who is often happy to throw 3 to land one if he needs to, with a hyper aggressive style, a solid chin, and a high work rate. Between the two it should be a really fan friendly bout.
Despite the bout being set as a mandatory it’s unclear, at the time of writing, whether the bout will be next or not, given Tsutsumi won the title in a mandatory, and it’s rare for the WBA to have a back to back mandatory defenses, is unclear. If it is, it’s a great chance for Tsutsumi to build on his profile, which jumped massively with his win over Inoue, and his first fight against a fighter from North America. As for Vargas it would be his first bout against a Japanese fighter, and a major step up in class for a man who’s best wins have been against Guerrero, Jonathan Gonzalez and and a long, long way, past his best Hernan "Tyson" Marquez.
— 堤 聖也 (つつみん) (@GoodOzanari) December 14, 2024
It should be also noted that Tsutsumi himself seemed to question the need for the interim title fight, as seen in his tweet above, and we do wonder if he was made aware or informed of the WBA's decision to devalue his title, by essentially making another title for the one he won, in excellent fashion, just 2 months earlier.