GERWIN Asilo faced defeat in his international debut, losing to kickboxing superstar Tenshin Nasukawa by a lopsided unanimous decision in a World Boxing Organization Asia-Pacific bantamweight title fight on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
It was supposed to be a huge opportunity for Asilo to make a name for himself in Japan because he was up against a famous fighter in Nasukawa.
The 23-year-old Asilo failed to capitalize on it and was totally outclassed by Nasukawa.
Asilo showcased his skills but it wasn’t enough to beat Nasukawa.
The 26-year-old Japanese dropped Asilo with a body shot in the ninth round. Nasukawa had his hand raised as the victor after 10 rounds of action.
Japanese judge Kazutoshi Yoshida and Thai judge Surat Soikrachang had identical scores of 98-91 for Nasukawa, while Cebuano judge Edward Ligas scored it 97-92 also in favor of the Nipponese.
Asilo suffered his first career loss and fell to 9-1 with four knockouts, while Nasukawa remained unbeaten at 5-0 with two knockouts. / EKA