How much did Floyd Mayweather make from his fight with Tenshin Nasukawa?

Floyd Mayweather (in red) went to Japan in 2018 to face Tenshin Nasukawa (third from left)
Floyd Mayweather (in red) went to Japan in 2018 to face Tenshin Nasukawa (third from left)

Floyd Mayweather made $9 million for less than three minutes of work against Tenshin Nasukawa.

In 2017, 'Money' retired from the sport of boxing following his knockout of Conor McGregor. However, he didn't retire from making money. Soon after his retirement, he announced he'd be interested in doing exhibition boxing matches.

He quickly found a home for his first exhibition boxing match with MMA promotion RIZIN. The promoters of the event offered him nearly $10 million to fight the undefeated kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in a three-round exhibition boxing match.

The bout was set for December 2018 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. Despite Mayweather nearly pulling out of the fight due to contractual issues, he went ahead with the bout. It's a good thing he did, as it was likely the easiest payday that he has ever earned.

Nasukawa came out throwing heavy shots, but was clearly smaller than the undefeated professional boxer. Mayweather ate a big right hand, but then he dominated the smaller kickboxer and knocked him down multiple times.

After the third knockdown, the fight was called off. With that, Mayweather walked away as the winner with a first-round knockout. He also left Japan nearly $10 million richer and did it with just a few minutes of work.

Watch Floyd Mayweather's knockout of Tenshin Nasukawa below:


Floyd Mayweather will face Mikuru Asakura in September

Nearly four years after his first appearance in Japan to face Tenshin Nasukawa, Floyd Mayweather is set to return to Japan again in September 2022.

Since his win against the undefeated kickboxer, the 45-year-old has stayed active in the exhibition boxing scene. He's had two contests against Logan Paul and Don Moore, with both ending in a no-contest due to no judges being on hand.

Following Mayweather's last exhibition with Moore, he confirmed that he would return to the ring sooner than many expected. He's now announced his return and will be with a promoter that he is fimilar with.

'Money' will return to RIZIN in September of this year. His opponent will be former RIZIN featherweight title challenger Mikuru Asakura. Similar to Nasuakwa, he doesn't have much boxing experience going in. However, he is much more similar to Mayweather's size.

Given how much Floyd Mayweather made in his last appearance in the RIZIN ring, it's hard to blame him for going back for more.

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Edited by Allan Mathew
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