Floyd Mayweather Calls Off Planned Bout In Japan On New Year's Eve
Just a few days ago, news broke that Floyd Mayweather Jr. would meet Tenshin Nasukawa at Rizin 14 on New Year's Eve from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Now, though, the unbeaten retired boxer has changed his tune, citing an issue with how everything went down and came about during the press conference.
According to Mayweather, he was going to have an exhibition with the unbeaten kickboxer in front of "wealthy spectators for a very large fee." Instead, he said he learned that the match would be part of the event and likely stream live around the world. That didn't sit too well with Mayweather, who added "I am a retired boxer that earns an unprecedented amount of money, globally, for appearances, speaking engagements and occasional small exhibitions."
Mayweather, who also said that he had "never heard of" his opponent until his trip to Japan, earned his 50th pro win inside the boxing ring last year with a stoppage over former UFC champion Conor McGregor.
"I want it to be clear that I, Floyd Mayweather, never agreed to an official bout with Tenshin Nasukawa," he wrote. "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."
Below is Mayweather's full explanation for his withdrawal:
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.