Floyd Mayweather earned himself a handy New Year’s bonus yesterday as he returned to the ring with a first-round stoppage of Tenshin Nasukawa in a farcical exhibition fight in Japan.

Mayweather claims to have earned $9 million for the three-round fight.

Mayweather, who spent much of the fight smiling, floored his opponent three times inside the first few minutes before Nasukawa’s corner threw in the towel.

The kickboxer — banned from kicking in this bout — was left in tears as Mayweather danced a merry jig, having stalked his opponent and sent him flying across the canvas like a rag-doll.

‘We had fun, first I want to thank God for this unbelievable turnout, this event, my team. Tokyo, Japan you guys are amazing I want to say thank you,’ Mayweather said after the fight.

The 41-year-old was not in prime shape but he still proved far too strong for Nasukawa, 21 years his junior, in the nine-minute scrap at the Saitama Super Arena just outside Tokyo.

— Dailyonline.