Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa has described himself as ‘honored’ at being the subject of a social media missive from Conor McGregor.
Nasukawa, 20, was defeated by Floyd Mayweather in the first round of their ‘exhibition’ bout at Rizin 14 in Tokyo, Japan, late last year, with Mayweather reportedly earning close to $9 million for what amounted to little more than 120 seconds of work.
While the ease in which he was swiftly defeated by the world champion boxer looked as though it may hurt Nasukawa as a fighting commodity, it didn’t stop McGregor issuing a message on Twitter in which he namechecked the young Japanese.
I wish to go to Tokyo to face Tenshin Nasukawa in a Mixed Martial Arts exhibition bout.
Before this summer.
Please arrange this, this instant.
Yours sincerely
The champ champ. @ufc @ParadigmSM— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) January 7, 2019
It remains to be seen if such a bout could even be in the realms of possibility but in his response on Monday, Nasukawa appeared to be receptive to the challenge.
“Dear Mr. McGregor, thank you very much for remembering my name,” Nasukawa wrote. “I’m honored that you would even consider fighting me. 58kg, kickboxing rules would probably get us in the ring sometime in the near future.”
Dear Mr. McGregor. @TheNotoriousMMA
Thank you very much for remembering my name. I’m honored that you would even consider fighting me.58kg, kickboxing rules would probably get us in the ring sometime in the near future 👍 pic.twitter.com/BTgVVnwXLA
— 那須川 天心 (@TeppenTenshin) January 7, 2019
For the unaware, 58kg is a little over 127-pounds — a weight which McGregor is highly unlikely to register on the scales throughout the rest of his career unless George Lockhart literally becomes a miracle worker. Then again, if it were to be scheduled an exhibition it would be possible to bypass any weight restrictions.
Despite the appearance in the Mayweather bout, it’s worth noting that Nasukawa remains undefeated in both MMA and kickboxing and is continually growing star in his home country. As someone once said, ‘if it makes dollars, it makes sense.”
