Tenshin Nasukawa, the kickboxer who Floyd Mayweather wiped the floor with through a first-round demolition, has once again notched a victory in boxing.
The Japanese star, who boasts a 44-0 record in his chosen sport, is proving to be a handful in pugilism, as Luis Torres found out on Monday.
Torres hit the canvas in the first and final round of eight as Tenshin completely dominated the proceedings at Ariake Arena in Koto-Ku.
Floyd Mayweather
Since being dropped three times and humiliated by Floyd Mayweather, Tenshin hasn’t looked back. He went on a KO spree in martial arts before embarking on a boxing run with Top Rank.
Now 2-0, plans will be in motion to move Tenshin quickly towards a title shot with his name forever linked with Mayweather.
The fight, which took place at RIZIN 14, was a public relations success for Tenshin despite the fact he was out of his depth. Mayweather took him to school, but Tenshin has reaped the rewards of a higher profile.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is astute enough to know that Tenshin will have plenty of eyeballs on him if he can land a shot at the super bantamweight title.
Tenshin Nasukawa vs Naoya Inoue
The man possessing two of those belts is, of course, pound-for-pound contender Naoya Inoue. A fight between the two combat superstars would be big business in Japan.
Given that Arum represents both, it’s undoubtedly on the agenda as a possible future crossover event.
So far, Tenshin has arguably not lost a single round since his pro boxing debut.
On top billing, Kenshiro Teraji defended his World Boxing Association light flyweight belt for the second time. He scored a technical knockout over South African Hekkie Budler.
The Japanese fighter went all out to defeat Budler in the ninth round. With the triumph, he remained the WBA champion and retained his WBC belt.
As expected, Budler came out all out to put pressure on Teraji. The fight’s pace was frantic, with fierce exchanges and good moments for both fighters.
The champion got into the challenger’s face and relied on his punching power to chip away at the visitor’s will despite being punished.
Teraji endured challenging moments but knew how to fight on the ropes and stay out of trouble. In the end, he managed to take Budler down and force the referee to stop the actions in the final part of the fight.
The champion enjoyed another brilliant performance, leaving his record at 22 wins, one loss, and 14 knockouts. Budler dropped his record to 35 wins, five losses, and 11 knockouts.
