Any concerns that Tenshin Nasukawa’s confidence would be irreparably damaged by the Floyd Mayweather exhibition bout were quickly put to rest.
Nasukawa was knocked out in the opening round of his boxing exhibition with Floyd Mayweather on New Year’s Eve but he returned to the realm of kickboxing in stunning style this weekend.
The Japanese kickboxing sensation took part in a RISE World Series 58kg tournament bout with Federico Roma on Sunday morning and he was back to his confident best.
Nasukawa knocked out his Argentinian opponent in the third round with one of the more acrobatic kicks you’re ever going to see.
The 20-year-old set the strike up with a bizarre crouch and then timed a gorgeous Capoeira kick to Roma’s jaw.
那須川天心KO勝ち🏆 @AbemaTV で視聴中 https://t.co/j71Kbf3JP1 #RISEWS pic.twitter.com/WZsTpBv2jh
— K-1×Krushアカウント (@kwanguranpuri) March 10, 2019
The knockout quickly went viral, with the likes of UFC President Dana White sharing the kick on social media.
Nasukawa remains one of the biggest names in combat sports in Asia and he has also been called out by Conor McGregor for a cross-sport clash although ‘The Notorious’, despite enjoying a significant size advantage over Nasukawa, would be wise to push for mixed martial arts rules rather than a straight kickboxing clash.
Mayweather, meanwhile, recently claimed that he was sending his protege Gervonta Davis to Japan for an exhibition bout of his own.
“We got an exhibition bout with the guy Tenshin in Japan in April,” Mayweather said last month. “Yes, he’s fighting Tenshin in an exhibition bout in Japan.”
