On New Year’s Eve this year as you prepare to sing Auld Lang Syne, write out your resolutions and likely make a last-minute run to the liquor store, you may also come across a headline saying something to the effect that undefeated retired boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. just got knocked out in Japan.
On Dec. 31, the 41-year-old Mayweather will step into the boxing ring once again in an exhibition match against 20-year-old Japanese kickboxing phenom Tenshin Nasukawa in Saitama, Japan as part of Japanese mixed martial arts promotion Rizin Fighting Federation’s New Year’s Eve show.
This was originally a bout that Mayweather shot down in early November, but eventually came together in the beginning of December with ESPN’s Dan Rafael reporting that the fight will happen at the 147-pound weight limit, welterweight. It will be just three three-minute rounds and the fighters will both wear eight-ounce Rizin-brand boxing gloves.
The event, Rizin 14, won’t air on Pay-Per-View and there’s been no announcement made yet about a streaming service, but the exhibition will headline a very lengthy 14-fight undercard that’s slated to start at 3:00 p.m. local time or 1:00 a.m. ET on Dec. 31.
In an official press conference held in early December at the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas, Mayweather was very jovial about the entire affair, not taking it seriously at all.
“A lot of times people ask, ‘Why is Floyd still fighting?’ I’m not fighting,” Mayweather told assembled reporters. “I’m in the entertainment business. I go out there to entertain.”
Adding: “This is a great way for me to go out there and give people some entertainment. It’s an exhibition match, but it’s giving me a chance to do something different. I love competing against fighters from all walks of life like in my amateur days. It’s all about entertainment. Nine minutes of entertainment. It’s going to be amazing.”
Mayweather is likely in a good mood about this exhibition because no matter what happens it won’t blemish his 50-0 professional boxing record, even joking he would be willing to “give” Nasukawa all three rounds.
For the Japanese fighter, however, even though his 28-0 kickboxing record won’t be challenged, nor will his 4-0 professional MMA record, he appears to be taking this fight a lot more seriously.
“The fight is very close and I’m training hard every day to face Mayweather and leave a mark,” Nasukawa told Rafael through an interpreter. “This is a great opportunity and we’re happy to take it. I’m going to put everything out there and show my strengths. I think that I’m the faster fighter. I’m going to use my weapons against him.
“There’s never been a Japanese fighter to face Floyd Mayweather in the ring. As an athlete, this is something that’s a great honour and a challenging task. I’d like to make a big impression.”
Nasukawa is more than half Mayweather’s age and likely feels like he has a lot to prove, thus leading to his deadly serious remarks. But Mayweather could be in for a lot of trouble because, exhibition or not, Nasukawa does appear to be approaching this fight like it’s a real one.
Even though the last official fight in Mayweather’s career was against UFC superstar Conor McGregor — a fight he very easily took control of after the first two rounds — and that it’s true McGregor is still considered to be a world-class MMA striker, Nasukawa is on a whole other level when it comes to striking.
Mayweather and his team probably didn’t do a whole lot of research on Nasukawa before taking this fight, and if they did, then either Mayweather is still every bit as good as he’s always been or the man is just getting paid so much he’s prepared to eat a mouthful of canvas.
Nasukawa comes from both a boxing and kickboxing background. He was offered a contract with a signing bonus of more than $100,000 to box by International Boxing Hall of Fame promoter Akihiko Honda’s Teiken Promotions when he was 14, but turned that down to pursue his love of kickboxing that saw him amass a 99-5 amateur record by the time he was 18. He won a RISE kickboxing world title while he was still in high school, while also going 4-0 dabbling in MMA.
Outside of his accomplishments, however, the biggest reason why Nasukawa gained fame among hardcore fight fans is because of his brutal knockout ability, with power demonstrated in all four limbs and his knees.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nED0uu6f0c&t=1s
Of all the weapons he has at his disposal, however, it’s Nasukawa’s speed which may be his most dangerous, and that which should worry Mayweather the most.
Famed for defence and the fact that you can probably only count the amount of clean shots opponents landed on him during his career on two hands, Mayweather simply doesn’t get hit and that’s because he’s always been blessed with nearly-godlike reaction time to get out of danger.
Of all the opponents he faced, there was only one who many thought could really beat him: Manny Pacquiao, a hard-hitting, fast-hands, southpaw hurricane of a fighter who lost to Mayweather after they finally decided to do the fight in 2015, five years after they first started negotiating the bout with both men not as adept as they used to be.
In Nasukawa, however, Mayweather may see shades of that younger Pacquiao the world wanted to see him fight back in 2010 as he, too, is a hard-hitting southpaw blessed with both quick hands and feet that allow him to attack at all sorts of angles that Mayweather’s defence may not be able to keep up with.
As Mayweather said, he’s approaching these nine minutes with Nasukawa like it’s just pure entertainment. Should he actually do that, though, there’s a good chance Mayweather won’t even make it to three minutes in the ring.
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