By: Sean Crose
“First and foremost,” Floyd Mayweather claimed in a Wednesday Instagram post, “I want it to be clear that I, Floyd Mayweather, never agreed to an official bout with Tenshin Nasukawa.” For those not in the know, it was announced just days ago, and to great fanfare, that Mayweather would be facing undefeated kickboxing and MMA prodigy Nasukawa in a match under unspecified rules in Japan (Nasukawa’s home country) on December 31st, traditionally a big day for combat sports in Japan. Mayweather said he was making the announcement now that he was “ back on U.S. soil after a long and disappointing trip to Tokyo.”
Photo Credit: Floyd Mayweather Jr. Twitter Account
“I now have the time,” he stated in the post “to address you, my fans and the media in regards to the upcoming event on December 31st that was recently announced.” Mayweather went on to claim “with all due respect,” that he had “never heard of him (Nasukawa) until this recent trip to Japan.” According to Mayweather, he had been “asked to participate in a 9 minute exhibition of 3 rounds with an opponent selected by the ‘Rizen Fighting Federation’.”
The bout, Mayweather went on to say, “was to be an exhibition put on for a small group of wealthy spectators for a very large fee.” Mayweather explained that “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,” he wrote, “my team and I were completely derailed by the new direction this event was going.” Mayweather added that “we should have put a stop to it immediately.” The Vegas based star also added that he wanted to “sincerely apologize to my fans for the very misleading information that was announced during this press conference.” The 50-0 boxer claimed that the abrupt nature of the proceedings had a lot to do with the subsequent miscommunication.
“I can assure you,” he stated, “that I too was completely blindsided by the arrangements that were being made without my consent nor approval.” Furthermore, Mayweather argued that “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.”
The man largely regarded as the greatest boxer of his generation concluded by stating he is “a retired boxer that earns an unprecedented amount of money, globally, for appearances, speaking engagements and occasional small exhibitions.” Boxing Insider will keep readers updated if and when further details arise.
