TENSHIN Nasukawa secured a comfortable points victory against Victor Santillan, taking himself one step closer towards a world title shot at 118lbs.
Their 10-round bantamweight encounter occupied the co-main event slot of Junto Nakatani vs Ryosuke Nishida, taking place at the Ariake Colosseum, Japan, earlier today.
While Nasukawa, 7-0 (2 KOs), got off to a pedestrian start, he nonetheless put on a glittering display down the stretch, claiming two scorecards of 99-91, and one wider reflection of 100-90, to consolidate his unanimous decision victory.
The Japanese star is a top-four contender with all four sanctioning bodies, and even occupies the leading position for Nakatani’s WBC world title.
And so the former kickboxer, it is fair to say, remains far removed from his stoppage defeat to Floyd Mayweather back in 2018, their brief exhibition now a distant memory.
Yet despite his potential, Nasukawa did not have it all his own way against Santillan, 14-2 (5 KOs), an awkward customer who – for the first few rounds, at least – made himself an elusive target.
Offensively, both combatants remained somewhat conservative early doors, though a short right hook from Santillan – delivered in the third round – was enough to command his opponent’s attention.
A nasty cut then opened up above Nasukawa’s left eye in the following frame, representing yet another hurdle for the slick southpaw to overcome.
He did, however, gradually begin to assert himself on the inside, slipping and sliding in and out of range while unleashing his explosive attacks.
From there, Nasakawa only intensified his fluid footwork, dancing rings around his more static opponent in a dominant sixth round.
More than anything, the adjustments he made – defined by the many angles created with his feet – allowed the 26-year-old to rain in a series of left hands throughout the minutes that followed.
The later rounds then delivered much of the same, with Nasukawa maintaining his elastic movement before claiming a wide victory on points.
