Weekend Boxing Results, Jan. 1

Floyd Mayweather Stops Tenshin Nasukawa in One Round

What was a giant waste of everyone’s time, actually wasted very little of everyone’s time as Floyd Mayweather needed only one round to stop 20-year old Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa. Floyd toyed with the significantly smaller man, walking him down and flailing his hands mockingly for about minute, before ultimately knocking Tenshin down three times before the fight was stopped. Nasukawa broke down and began crying after his corner stopped the fight, which had everyone confused about what he thought his chances actually were.

Because of how easily Nasukawa went down despite not being known for having a weak chin in his kickboxing career, and the sordid history of MMA match fixing in Japan, some people thought the fight was fixed. That wouldn’t make much sense, as losing so easily hurt Tenshin’s reputation in a way unlikely to be worth any shady Yakuza money. More likely, this was just an example of what happens when someone that’s never boxed as a professional faces an all-time great who is also naturally over 25 pounds heavier than him. And another example of how little respect boxers are given by members of the other combat sports communities.

What the fight means for Floyd’s career is unclear, however after the fight Manny Pacquiao tweeted “Here is an early New Year's resolution. To continue to only fight experienced opponents who are my size or bigger.” Floyd has spoken of a desire for a Pacquiao rematch this year, maybe this bit of trash talk indicates Manny is looking for that fight as well. At the same time, if Floyd can make a supposed $9 million doing stuff like this, why would he?

Masayuki “The Judge” Ito Doesn’t Need Judges in TKO Victory Over Evgeny Chuprakov

27-year old Masayuko “The Judge” Ito wouldn’t let his fight go to the judges. Despite getting a cut above his eye due to an accidental headbutt in the second round, Ito dominated Evgeny “Happy Gilmore” Chuprakov and forced the Russian’s corner to throw in the towel in the seventh round. Chuprakov was cut over both eyes and found himself a sitting target for Ito’s right hands. When his mouthpiece was knocked out from a big right hand, his corner hopped onto the apron and ended the fight although he was still upright.

Riding a nine-fight win streak and now holding the WBO junior lightweight title, Ito is expected to fight American Jamel Herring in his next bout. Herring is 19-2 as a professional but has a hugely compelling story as the fighter who calls himself “Semper Fi” was both a 2012 Olympian and Iraq war veteran as a young Marine.

Ken Shiro Beats Saul "Baby" Juarez by Wide Decision

The only thing wider than Ken Shiro’s traditional post-fight smile was the judge’s decision, as the Japanese social media star won a unanimous 120-108, 119-109, 119-109 decision over Saul Juarez. Fighting for the second time in two months, Shiro was expected to win and simply proved to be too good for the 28-year-old Mexican, who is now a putrid 1-6-1 in his last eight fights. With the win, Shiro moved to 15-0 and retained the WBC light-flyweight title. He is expected to face Hiroto Kyoguchi to unify the WBC and WBA titles, because…

Hekkie Budler KO’d for First Time Ever by Hiroto Kyoguchi

In 35 fights as a professional, South Africa’s Hekkie Budler had never been stopped in a prizefight. The 11th round of his bout with Hiroto Kyoguchi ended that streak however, as Kyoguchi forced Budler’s corner to stop the fight at the end of the tenth round. The fight was close until the later rounds, when Kyoguchi’s consistent bodywork, especially his left hook to the body, began to slow his 30-year-old, purple haired challenger. With the win, Kyoguchi moved to 12-0 with nine knockouts.

Takuma Inoue Proves Petch Sor Chitpattana's Record Was a Bloated Lie in Decision Victory

Coming into his fight against Naoya “The Monster” Inoue’s brother Takuma, Petch Sor Chitpattana had a Mayweather-like, perfect 48-0 record. However, this record was built upon beating atrocious Thai competition, a fact that was reiterated by his loss to the still green, 12-0 Inoue. Inoue took the vacant WBC bantamweight title by outboxing Chitpattana on way to a unanimous 117-111, 117-111, 117-111 decision victory.

This fight featured open scoring, so Chitpattana knew he was going to lose a decision and to his credit looked for the knockout, especially in the final round when he had Inoue briefly pinned against the ropes. Ultimately however, Inoue was too good and it was clear Chitpattana had not faced a single fighter anywhere near as good as him over the course of 48 bouts.

Donnie Nietes Wins Fourth Weight Class World Title After Dubiously Decisioning Kazuto Ioka

Donnie Nietes continues moving up in weight, and continues winning, although this one was not as clear cut as most. Nietes took a split, 116-112, 112-116, 118-110 decision over Ioka, which had many declaring “robbery.” It was the 118-110 scorecard that really had social media scratching their heads, with many noting that while Nietes won the first few rounds convincingly there is simply no way he won so many of the mid- to late rounds. Nevertheless, Nietes now joins Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire as the only Filipino boxers to have won world titles in four weight classes.