On New Years Even in Japan (Monday morning in North America), undefeated boxing star Floyd Mayweather Jr. stepped through the ropes of the RIZIN Fighting Federation ring for a strange exhibition bout with 20-year-old kickboxing ace Tenshin Nasukawa.

In the weeks leading up to this exhibition bout — and really, until the very point the contest began — Floyd Mayweather looked like he was taking it all about as seriously as a walk to the bank (in the eyes of some fans, it wasn’t much more than that). Once the action began, however, the American boxer cranked up the offense, punishing his much smaller opponent with ferocious power shots the likes of which he hasn’t thrown in years. Suddenly, it seemed as though he was taking the fight very seriously.

Before the first of the bout’s three rounds had ended, the Tenshin Nasukawa corner was throwing in the towel. Their fighter had been dropped three times, and they decided to spare him from any further punishment (see the finish here).

Unsurprisingly, many members of the combat sports bubble had a hard time stomaching this wild scene. No matter how you feel about both fighters, it was tough watching Floyd Mayweather bludgeon a 20-year-old fighter who competes multiple weight classes below him in an entirely different sport.

Manny Pacquiao, a chief rival of Mayweather’s career, and possibly his future opponent, seemed to take particular issue with the details of this bout.

Post-fight, the Filipino superstar took to Twitter to share his New Year’s resolution — which was really just a not-so-subtle dig at Floyd Mayweather.

https://twitter.com/mannypacquiao/status/1079798678880104449

“Here is an early New Year’s resolution,” Manny Pacquiao wrote on Twitter. “To continue to only fight experienced opponents who are my size or bigger.”

What do you think of Manny Pacquiao’s jab at Floyd Mayweather?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 12/31/2018.