Floyd Mayweather Backs Out Of MMA Bout Vs. Japanese Kickboxing Sensation Tenshin Nasukawa

Floyd Mayweather has pulled himself from the proposed UFC bout against  Japanese kickboxing phenom Tenshin Nasukawa.

mayweather Pulls out of Fight vs. Kickboxing Sensation

After a lengthy explanation on Twitter, Floyd announced his secession from the fight, claiming he was misinformed about the circumstances. Mayweather and his team were reportedly under the impression that the fight was to be a small exhibition match and never agreed to an official bout.

“Ultimately, I was asked to participate in a 9-minute exhibition of 3 rounds with an opponent selected by the Rizen Fighting Federation,” Mayweather wrote. “What I was originally informed of (it) 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.”

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Mayweather and his former opponent, the 20-year-old Nasukawa, appeared Monday at a news conference and announced the fight along with organizers of the event, which was set for Dec. 31 at the 37,000-seat Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, just outside of Tokyo.

 

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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 Nov 7, 2018 at 10:53am PST

The fight would have been Mayweather’s first since his August 2017 match against Conor McGregor. He has been adamant about his status as a retired boxer, although Mayweather said he planned to come out of retirement and announced in September that he would face Manny Pacquiao in a rematch. The fight likely would not be until at least the spring, as Pacquiao plans to defend his title against Adrian Broner, although Mayweather announced that it would take place in December.

Article by Red Young