Floyd Mayweather vs Tenshin Nasukawa: American makes light work of kickboxing sensation
Floyd Mayweather beat kickboxing prodigy Tenshin Nasukawa
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Your support makes all the difference.Floyd Mayweather made another comeback from retirement to easily beat Japanese kickboxing sensation Tenshin Nasukawa in a bizarre one-off exhibition match in Tokyo.
The undefeated boxer won in his first match since beating UFC star Conor McGregor by unanimous decision in August 2017.
Mayweather’s decision to return to the ring and take part in a total mismatch attracted criticism from those within the sport, including Amir Khan who said his “jokes fights” are “hurting boxing”.
The American billed the fight as the “highest paid exhibition ever”, but the event, which place on the RZIN 14 MMA card, will not go on either fighter’s record. Re-live the action below:
PREVIEW
TV and live stream information
The event will not be shown live on TV in the UK, but fans can order the show live on FITE TV for $24.99 here.
When is it?
The fight tops a packed undercard in Japan and the two are expected to begin their ring walks before midday in the UK.
Rules
The exhibition fight will be contested over three, three minute rounds under boxing rules, Rizin confirmed last month.
Both Mayweather and Nasukawa will both wear eight ounce Rizin gloves and the result will not go on either fighter’s boxing or MMA records.
How much will Mayweather earn?
Mayweather revealed on Instagram that he expects to make $9m from the fight, working out at $1m per-minute of boxing. “What if I told you I was making $9,000,000 for 9 minutes of sparring in Tokyo Japan would you do the same if you were me?” he wrote. “I like to call it a 9 minute walk thru.”
Undercard
Tenshin Nasukawa vs Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Kyoji Horiguchi vs Darrion Caldwell
Kanna Asakura vs Ayaka Hamasaki
Rena Kubota vs Samantha Jean-Francois
Yusuke Yachi vs Johnny Case
Ulka Sasaki vs Manel Kape
Yuki Motoya vs Justin Scoggins
Nobumitsu Osawa vs Tofik Musaev
Jiri Prochazka vs Brandon Halsey
Justyna Haba vs Shinju Nozawa Auclair
Damien Brown vs Daron Cruickshank
Mika Nagano vs Miyuu Yamamoto
Gabi Garcia vs Barbara Nepomuceno
Kazuyuki Miyata vs Erson Yamamoto
Mayweather wins in the first round
Nasukawa's speed was meant to put Mayweather under pressure, but in truth he looked well-short of what was required to keep up with the American. Mayweather put him down three times, with each shot not appearing to carry too much power, and it's way too much for his opponent.
'Unbelievable performance' is how the American commentators describe the match, but in truth it was a complete farce.
Mayweather has the mic
"I want to say thank you it was about entertainment we had fun.
"I want to thank god for this turnout for this event, for my team Tokyo japan you guys are amazing.
"We are the past present and future of sports entertainment. Tokyo Japan you guys have been amazing.
"I want to say thank you to Tenshin, it's about entertainment Ten is still undefeated I'm undefeated, I did this just to entertain the fans. I said 'why not?' I'm, still retired, still 50-0, Tenshin is a true champion and a hell of a fighter.
"Tenshin, hold your head up high, I want the fans around the world to support Tenshin, he's a great guy and a great champion.
"Rizin is number one."
The report
That's all folks from a rather strange night of 'boxing'.
Hope you all have a great New Year, although nothing will come close to Mayweather's trip to the bank in the coming days.
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