Tenshin Nasukawa, 24, made his first successful step into the world of professional boxing. The much-anticipated debut of the undefeated kickboxing great drew a lot of eyes to the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. Over the full duration of six rounds, Nasukawa beat the No. 2 ranked Bantamweight in Japan, Yuki Yonaha via unanimous decision. The final scores were 60-53, 60-53, and 59-55 all in favor of the 'Prodigy'.
Despite not getting the finish, as many expected, Nasukawa showed great composure and shot selection. Yonaha was the busier fighter out the gate, but Nasukawa did a good job smothering his offense with sharp counter punching, while quickly overtaking the fight. Unsurprisingly, for every sharp left Nasukawa landed, he would mix in some taunts and wild punches, while showboating his way around the ring.
A strong performance for Nasukawa, showcasing his blistering speed and combination work. Ultimately, Yonaha, despite marching forward and showing heart, didn't have much to offer against the offense of the much quicker Nasukawa.
Contrary to his gesturing during the fight, Nasukawa was humble in victory, applauding Yonaha for taking on the challenge against a debutant and promised he would improve as a boxer. "This is not my limit, so I will continue to evolve. I'm blessed with Teiken [Promotion], my father, Mr. Ito, and my whole team, so I definitely want to win the world championship in boxing."
