By:  | September 19, 2023 9:29 am

Tenshin Nasukawa’s second pro boxing match could not have gotten off to a better start. The Japanese southpaw dropped Luis Guzman with a left hand inside the opening minute.

Guzman came into the bout with far more experience than Tenshin. The Mexican decided to take an aggressive approach and paid the price as he swarmed forwards only to find himself on the receiving end of a straight counter left.

Tenshin strutted back to his corner and would have been contemplating the first finish of his boxing career. Unfortunately this was as good as it got for the former kickboxer who had to settle for a lopsided decision win.

Signature speed

He continued to score with the straight left in the second round and used his jab to set up left hooks to the body. Tenshin’s signature speed was on display in the third and he wobbled Guzman with a counter right hook.

The crowd at the Ariake Arena was quiet which is often the case in Japan but also reflected the fact that Tenshin couldn’t quite live up to the sky high expectations he had set in that electric opening minute.

Tenshin started to up the pace again towards the end of the third before easily circling away from danger when Guzman tried to counter. When the off balance nearly fell through the ropes in the fourth he started strutting again.

By this stage Guzman knew he needed a knockdown to win and the Mexican tried to take him out of his comfort zone by turning the fifth into a brawl. It probably wasn’t enough to win the round and Tenshin rallied in the sixth, trapping his opponent in the corner and unloading.

Body shots

Tenshin continued to target the body in the seventh round while keeping Guzman at bay with his quick jab. The Mexican lost his footing after a right hook but it was ruled a slip.

Tenshin was denied a legitimate knockdown in the final round. As Guzman went in search of a buzzer beating KO he was sent spiraling backwards by a left hand.

As the bell sounded to end the fight Tenshin walked back to the corner with his hand raised triumphantly but the referee inexplicably decided not to award the knockdown. It will prove to be no more than a footnote in history as the decision was not in doubt.

The scorecards all read 80-70 in Tenshin’s favour meaning the judges recognized the second knockdown even if the referee didn’t. He improves to 2-0 and the hype will only intensify after an impressive showing against a experienced but limited opponent who drops to 10-3.

Main event

In the main event Kenshiro Teraji (22-1) stopped Hekkie Budler (35-5) to successfully defend his WBC and WBA light flyweight titles. The referee stepped in to save the South African from further punishment as the Japanese fighter unloaded in the ninth round.

The goal for Tenshin will be to become a world champion at super flyweight. He might not be ready to take on one of the division’s elite just yet but the former kickboxer is definitely heading in the right direction after his second pro win.