MMA/Pro-Boxing News: Floyd Mayweather backs out of agreement to fight kickboxer

What's the story?

Retired Boxer Floyd Mayweather has backed out of his upcoming fight with Japanese kickboxer, Tenshin Nasukawa, after claiming that he had no intentions to face him in an 'official bout'.

Mayweather recently agreed to square off with Nasukawa on New Year's eve, in the city of Tokyo, at the Saitama Super Arena. The rules were yet to be determined.

In case you didn't know..

Floyd "Money" Mayweather took fight fans around the world by surprise after agreeing to face Tenshin Nasukawa, a kickboxer with an unbeaten record of 27-0. Floyd last graced the boxing ring against former UFC lightweight champion, Conor McGregor, in what was supposed to be his last fight.

Mayweather being the defensive virtuoso he is, out-boxed Conor McGregor after tiring him out during the initial rounds of the fight, before securing a technical knockout win in round 10 of the fight.

Post fight, Floyd not only had made an estimated amount upwards of US$300 million, but also amassed an unprecedented boxing record of 50-0. In July 2018, Floyd was listed on the Forbes list for the "world's highest paid celebrity", surpassing veteran actor George Clooney.

The heart of the matter

Earlier this week, Floyd Mayweather agreed to fight Japanese kickboxer, Tenshin Nasukawa, in a fight that could have very well been a mixed martial arts bout. The press conference for promotions in regards to the fight was attended by Floyd and ONE Entertainment CEO, Brent Johnson.

Three days after reportedly signing the agreement, Floyd decided to back off from the deal by saying that the initial clause was to fight in a non-televised event for 'wealthy spectators'.

The fight was prior agreed to be a 3-round exhibition fight, purely for entertainment purposes, with no intentions of being represented as an official fight card. After returning home, this is what Mayweather had to say about what seemed like a rather unpleasant trip;

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. I was asked to participate in a nine-minute exhibition of three rounds with an opponent selected by the Rizen Fighting Federation.

Once I arrived to the press conference, my team and I were completely derailed. We should have put a stop to it immediately.

I can assure you that I too was completely blindsided by the arrangements that were being made without my consent nor approval. I was hesitant to create a huge disturbance by combating what was being said and for that I am truly sorry.

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 Nov 7, 2018 at 10:53am PST

What's next?

After a bizarre and abrupt stop to a fight that could have potentially been a mixed martial arts debut for Floyd Mayweather, it has become seemingly hard for fight fans to take him seriously.

Was this an act of simple vigilance by The Money Team? Leave your opinions and thoughts in the comments section below.