After much hype around Floyd Mayweather making his return to the boxing ring, the iconic fighter appears to have backed out of a fight with Japanese kickboxing star Tenshin Nasukawa.
In an Instagram post Mayweather said he was "blindsided" by the promoter. He said he did not expect the event to be this big and saw it as an "entertainment fight."
"First and foremost, I want it to be clear that I, Floyd Mayweather, never agreed to an official bout with Tenshin Nasukawa."
On November 5, the Rizin Fighting Federation announced that world champion boxer would compete against Japanese kickboxing powerhouse Nasukawa.
The fight against the 41-year-old undefeated champion was supposed to take place on December 31 in Saitama, Japan.
Here are 4 things you need to know about Nasukawa
- The MMA and kickboxing athlete is only 20-years-old.
- Nasukawa has participated in over 30 fights, loosing zero in his kickboxing matches and winning four out of the five MMA fights.
- According to Sports Illustrated, he started karate at the age of five and picked up kickboxing in grade six. He went pro at 15-years-old.
- He made his MMA debut in December 2016.