Tenshin Nasukawa continued his pro boxing development.

The renowned kickboxing star posted his second victory as a boxer with an eight-round decision over Mexico’s Luis Guzman. Scores were 80-70 on all three scards in their ESPN+ aired junior featherweight bout Monday at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. 

The same venue hosted Nasukawa’s pro boxing debut earlier this April, which also shared a card with Teiken Promotions stablemate and reigning lineal/WBA/WBC junior flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji (21-1, 13KOs). A similar outing was provided by Nasukawa, other than immediate advancement from six to eight rounds.

Guzman was floored in the first minute of the fight. The visiting Mexican walked directly into a counter left hand to hit the deck for the lone knockdown of the fight.

Tokyo’s Nasukawa appeared at times to have the opportunity to close the show but instead chose to play to the crowd. A similar offering came of his six-round virtual shutout of countryman Yuki Yonaha, whom he dropped in the second round of their April 8 bout en route to a lopsided victory.

The straight left hand was effective all night for Nasukawa, who didn’t waste any punches even if he postured a bit too much to his corner’s liking. The 25-year-old southpaw was urged to “beat [Guzman] properly” in between rounds, advice which provided a spark for Nasukaw in round three.

Guzman tried different tricks to change his luck. He occasionally switched to southpaw but didn’t enjoy any real success from either side as Nasukawa was just far too skilled, even in the infancy of his boxing journey.

Action along the ropes saw Guzman time Nasukawa with a counter right hand late in round five, by far his best moment of the fight. It was a sufficient wake-up call for Nasukawa, who landed several power shots in a lopsided sixth round where Guzman was hurt on several occasions and cornered late but able to make it to the bell.

Nasukawa received a tongue-lashing from his father and head trainer Hiroyuki prior to the start of the eighth and final round. He responded with a committed attack right to the end of the fight, including a left hand to floor Guzman. Referee Biney Martin weirdly pointed in the air but never issued a count or made a real ruling, though the judges treated it as a knockdown.

It was a moot point as the fight was well out of reach by then. A modest three-fight win streak ended for Guzman, who fell to 10-3 (6KOs) with the defeat. The bout was his first outside of Mexico.

Nasukawa advanced to 2-0 (0KOs), though it remains to be seen how ambitious his team will be in the year ahead. For now, it’s the latest effort to put further distance from his disgraceful New Year’s Eve 2018 exhibition bout versus the legendary Floyd Mayweather, as he creates far more credible boxing memories.

The bout served as the Amazon Prime Video/ESPN+ chief support to Teraji’s junior flyweight championship defense versus former two-division titlist Hekkie Budler (35-4, 11KOs).

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox