Japanese Kickboxing Prodigy Tenshin Nasukawa is the Next Big Thing

We should've known that a match between boxing legend Floyd Mayweather and 20-year-old Japanese kickboxing prodigy Tenshin Nasukawa scheduled for New Year's Eve was too good to be true. The crossover fight—a first for Mayweather—would have been historic. It was going to be held at the 37,000-seat Saitama Super Arena in Japan under "special rules," meaning Nasukawa would have been allowed to kick, pundits speculated. Alas, Mayweather called off the fight early this morning in an announcement on Instagram.

The long Instagram caption says that Mayweather never even officially agreed to fight Nasukawa. What he'd allegedly signed up for was an exhibition fight for a small and wealthy audience (which reportedly would have made him $88 million USD richer), not the massive televised event the organizer was going to turn it into, he said.

Days before, however, Mayweather seemed excited about the fight at a press conference where he promised fans ”a special bout,” and ”something they had never seen before.” He even posted a picture of himself wearing MMA-styled gloves emblazoned with the Rizin logo, hinting at a non-boxing ruleset. The picture has been deleted since, but not before Rizin Fighting Federation CEO Nobu Sakibakara reposted it.

Needless to say, it was a disappointing turn for everyone who had expected to witness Mayweather finally enter the MMA ring. But rest assured that this won't be the last time the world hears about Nasukawa.

“Ninja Boy” Nasukawa, as he is known in Japan, is the country’s fastest-rising martial arts phenom and the newest addition to the highly decorated EVOLVE Fight Team, based out of Singapore.

Born in 1998, the karateka turned kickboxer has been studying martial arts since the tender age of six, and has fought professionally in Japan since he turned 16. But he's been knocking competitors out cold in Muay Thai matches since he was roughly 13 years old:

The baby-faced fighter’s technical boxing skills and pulverizing kicks have made him a viral sensation in Japan. He regularly lands moves like that look and sound like they belong in a Tekken match in his professional bouts, and bleaches his hair in the image of his favorite anime characters.

Earlier this May, Nasukawa executed an otherworldly dropkick aptly named the “Rolling Thunder” that sent top-ranked Rizin competitor Yusaku Nakamura to the canvas and shook media outlets across the world:

His resume is impressive—he outpointed UFC title contender Kyoji Horiguchi this past October and slept Lumpinee World Champion Wanchanlong with a blistering spinning back kick that would have made MMA commentator Joe Rogan proud:

In fact, a day before Mayweather cancelled the fight, Rogan wrote on Instagram that if Mayweather agreed to rules that would allow Nasukawa to kick, it could be a “terrible night” for the five-division world champion. Other MMA commentators echoed Rogan’s sentiments, noting that despite being physically bigger and having more experience, Mayweather would not have stood a chance fighting under kickboxing rules.

Take the 1967 fight between Muhammad Ali and Antonio Inoki. Ali may be the best boxer of all time, but he was nearly crippled by the Japanese professional wrestler, who spent fifteen minutes kicking the cartilage out of his legs from a turtling position on the ground.

But Nasukawa still remains a heavy underdog. If both men agree to reschedule the fight someday (as has happened with many ”canceled” Mayweather fights), Nasukawa will have to overcome an 11 kilogram and 4-inch reach advantage to win. He will also have to bridge a massive experience gap to defeat a boxing legend who, to date, holds 19 more professional fights and 21 more years in the ring over Nasukawa.

Considering Mayweather's preference for nine-figure paydays, it's hard to say how long fans have to wait for a crossover fight as exciting as this could have been. In the mean time, it's probably wise to keep an eye on the young Japanese firebrand. Fresh out of his teens, undefeated, and with the spotlight fixed firmly on his camp, Tenshin Nasukawa may just be the next household name in Asian martial arts.