Tenshin Nasukawa, kickboxer who cried after loss to Floyd Mayweather, wins boxing debut
Years after Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Floyd Mayweather, the Japanese kickboxing legend earned his first boxing win.
The 24-year-old is now embarking on his own professional boxing career after a decade in combat sports. From 2012 to 2022, Nasukawa dominated in kickboxing, attaining a 44-0 professional record and defeating names such as Takeru Segawa in that stretch.
After that latest win over 'Natural Born Crusher' last June, the Japanese star decided to make a run in the boxing ring. Nasukawa signed with Bob Arum's Top Rank and is fully committed to the move, even retiring from kickboxing and MMA for the switch.
Earlier today, Tenshin Nasukawa faced Yuki Yonaha on his professional boxing debut. In the clash at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, the former kickboxing star dominated. He scored the sole knockdown of the fight and bludgeoned his opponent en route to a lopsided unanimous decision victory.
See highlights of the win below:
That victory had to feel good for the Japanese prospect, as it helped erase the memory of his most high-profile boxing match. While today was Nasukawa's professional debut, he had several exhibition fights in the ring previously.
One of those came in December 2018 against Floyd Mayweather. 'Money' entered the contest with a 50-0 professional record, and outweighed Nasukawa by over 20 pounds. With that in mind, the result wasn't a surprise.
Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Floyd Mayweather: Did 'Money' win?
Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Floyd Mayweather didn't go well for the kickboxer.
For those that remember 'Money's' exhibition bout with the Japanese star in December 2018, you'll likely remember that it wasn't very competitive. While some of Mayweather's exhibition matchups have lacked in action, that wasn't the case here.
The kickboxer came out firing early, and it became clear that Nasukawa wasn't going to roll over for the boxing legend. Sadly, it didn't matter. Mayweather took a clean shot early on, and that was all it took for him to flip the switch.
From that moment forward, there was no stopping the former champion. Mayweather knocked Nasukawa down three straight times in the first round to force a stoppage win. Following the defeat, the kickboxer cried in the ring, showing how much the moment meant to him.
Floyd Mayweather's last fight against Tenshin Nasukawa who is 46-0 in his professional combat sports career, had never been stopped prior or since, and hasn't lost a fight since a decision in an amateur bout in 2012 where the fight was only six minutes long. https://t.co/2fKEDLyxTa
However, Tenshin Nasukawa has clearly learned lessons from that defeat and improved because of it. Already 1-0 as a professional boxer, the kickboxing legend is hopeful that he will become a world champion in his new sport.