20-year-old Japanese kickboxing wunderkind Tenshin Nasukawa is currently gearing up for the experience of a lifetime: a three-round exhibition boxing match with undefeated legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. The bout will top the stacked RIZIN 14 card, which goes down inside the hallowed Saitaima Super Arena, just outside Tokyo, Japan, on New Years Eve.<\/p>\n
Given that Tenshin Nasukawa and Floyd Mayweather come from two different sports \u2014 one that allows kicks, one that doesn’t \u2014 it should come as no surprise that the negotiations for this anticipated exhibition match were difficult. The two parties had to agree on a rule-set that would satisfy Mayweather, but also maintain some level of competitive legitimacy.<\/p>\n
While the negotiations for this bout were complicated, Nasukawa approached them with an openminded and pragmatic attitude. He of course had his hopes with respect to the bout’s rule-set, but understood that the superstar Mayweather would probably get his way regardless.<\/p>\n
“I don\u2019t think the negotiations were smooth,” Tenshin Nasukawa told BJPENN.com this week. “I was just told by my father and coach, and really wasn\u2019t too particular to begin with. I knew that even if I was particular, it would have gone his way anyway.”<\/p>\n