Floyd Mayweather denies agreeing deal to fight kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa

Floyd Mayweather denies agreeing deal to fight kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa

Floyd Mayweather has not agreed to an official bout with kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa, the former five-weight world boxing champion has said on Instagram.

Mayweather seemed set to face the Japanese fighter on December 31 in Tokyo, but the 41-year-old took to social media on Wednesday to address the issue.

Mayweather wrote: “First and foremost, I want it to be clear that I, Floyd Mayweather, never agreed to an official bout with Tenshin Nasukawa.”

View this post on Instagram

Now that I am back on U.S. soil after a long and disappointing trip to Tokyo, I now have the time to address you, my fans and the media in regard to the upcoming event on December 31st that was recently announced. First and foremost, I want it to be clear that I, Floyd Mayweather, never agreed to an official bout with Tenshin Nasukawa. In fact (with all due respect) I have never heard of him until this recent trip to Japan. Ultimately, I was asked to participate in a 9 minute exhibition of 3 rounds with an opponent selected by the “Rizen Fighting Federation”. What I was originally informed of by Brent Johnson of “One Entertainment” was that this was to be an exhibition put on for a small group of wealthy spectators for a very large fee. This exhibition was previously arranged as a “Special Bout” purely for entertainment purposes with no intentions of being represented as an official fight card nor televised worldwide. Once I arrived to the press conference, my team and I were completely derailed by the new direction this event was going and we should have put a stop to it immediately. I want to sincerely apologize to my fans for the very misleading information that was announced during this press conference and I can assure you that I too was completely blindsided by the arrangements that were being made without my consent nor approval. For the sake of the several fans and attendees that flew in from all parts of the world to attend this past press conference, I was hesitant to create a huge disturbance by combating what was being said and for that I am truly sorry. I am a retired boxer that earns an unprecedented amount of money, globally, for appearances, speaking engagements and occasional small exhibitions.

A post shared by Floyd Mayweather (@floydmayweather) on

He added: “I was asked to participate in a nine-minute exhibition of three rounds with an opponent.

“This was to be an exhibition put on for a small group of wealthy spectators for a very large fee.

“This exhibition was previously arranged purely for entertainment purposes with no intentions of being represented as an official fight card nor televised worldwide.

“I want to sincerely apologise to my fans for the very misleading information.”

Speaking at a press conference to promote MMA promotion company Rizin Fighting Federation, he said: “I wanted to do something different. It doesn’t matter where the fight is but it’s in a special place.

“I always wanted to display my skills outside the US and be in a special fight. This presented itself, I spoke with my team, I got with Rizin and we put it together.”

Floyd Mayweather holds a 50-0 fight record after his defeat of Conor McGregor
Floyd Mayweather holds a 50-0 fight record after his defeat of Conor McGregor (PA)

Nasukawa, 20, is unbeaten in 27 kickboxing fights and holds a 4-0 record in mixed martial arts.

– Advertisement –
– Advertisement –