Midnight Mania! Opinion: Mayweather-Tenshin wasn’t fixed, idiots

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

In the wake of the Mayweather-Tenshin fight, a mindbogglingly stupid conspiracy theory is going around that the lopsided fight was somehow fixed. Never mind that the theory makes no sense from any perspective, it has been given credence by so-called analysts like Robin Black, and, more surprisingly, professional MMA fighters Rory Macdonald, Alan Jouban, and Zach Makovsky.

This claim just doesn’t square with reality. While fights in Japan have been fixed in the past, there is no motive for having Mayweather wreck Nasukawa that makes any kind of sense. It would have made sense for Mayweather to make Tenshin look good, but what could possibly be gained by Mayweather taking him apart so conclusively? It was embarrassing for one of RIZIN’s biggest stars, doing a lot of damage to his future reputation with a Western audience. Mayweather is retired, has fought at least 30 pounds heavier, and among the greatest boxers of his generation. He didn’t need Tenshin to take a dive. In an exhibition fight, there isn’t even any betting on the outcome, so that’s not a motivation either.

In conclusion, this makes no sense. Why, then, has it gotten so much steam? Robin Black’s initial, thoughtless breakdown appeared to sell a lot of people on the conspiracy, claiming that Mayweather’s punches didn’t really land. However, a close viewing shows that not only did his punch land, taking Tenshin’s equlibrium away, but the follow-up punch that Black claimed missed, connected as well. The modern iteration of Mayweather isn’t known for his power punches, but he is fighting a much smaller opponent, and clearly wasn’t too worried about return fire, letting him sit down on his blows. Tenshin’s attempts to recover his equlibrium seem to contribute to people’s incredulity as well, but that can be attributed much more simply to Tenshin not having his legs under him after Floyd rocked him.

Tenshin himself confirmed this was the case afterwards: he lost his balance after Floyd’s hook clipped him on the back of his head. Regular readers of Midnight Mania know that knockouts can look strange- when fighters get ‘put on skates’, they can look ridiculous. Remember Kevin Lee going full Bambi-legs against Edson Barboza?

Tenshin also admitted afterwards that he had underestimated Mayweather in the lead-up.

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Insomnia

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Sleep well, Maniacs! A better tomorrow is always possible. Follow me on Twitter and Facebook @Vorpality