Floyd Mayweather said that he has always wanted to fight outside of the U.S.GETTY IMAGES
Floyd Mayweather revealed he is "aligning with the Rizin Fighting Federation," a Japanese MMA company, and will fight kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa at the organization's year-end show on New Year's Eve in Japan, according to Bryan Armen Graham of the London GUARDIAN. The announcement was made on Monday in Tokyo, where Rizin officials introduced Mayweather and Nasukawa, an undefeated 20-year-old "kickboxing prodigy" who joined the promotion in '16. Mayweather said, "It wasn't easy to make this happen. But we told the people anything is possible, so now we're here and we want to make sure that we give the people in Tokyo what they want to see: blood, sweat and tears." Mayweather, who turns 42 in February, captured world championships in five divisions, but has not fought since a 10th-round knockout of UFC fighter Conor McGregor under boxing rules in Aug. '17 (GUARDIAN, 11/5). REUTERS' Jack Tarrant reported it seems for Mayweather "this fight is about expanding his brand and business interests overseas." Mayweather said, "I wanted to do something different. I always wanted to display my skills outside the U.S. and be in a special fight." The "most stunning aspect of Mayweather's announcement is his decision to sign with an MMA brand, having never competed in the octagon before." While boxing rules "restrict bouts to the use of just punches," MMA also incorporates kicks, knees and elbow strikes as well as wrestling, joint locks and chokes. Mayweather and his team said that they are "still in negotiations with Rizin over the rules and format of the fight," which should be "situated" in the coming weeks (REUTERS, 11/4).
'HISTORY-MAKING EVENT': NEWS.com.au's James Matthey wrote Rizin CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara reportedly said that the promotion was thrilled to have convinced Mayweather to take part in the "history-making event." Sakakibara: "First, we had to convince Mr. Mayweather to come to the ring on the Rizin ring on December 31. As you know, Mr. Mayweather is undefeated. But all his fights have been in the U.S. He has had a wish to fight outside the U.S." (NEWS.com.au, 11/4). In London, Gareth Davies reported Nasukawa has a 27-0 record with 21 knockouts in kickboxing. He is 4-0 with two knockouts in MMA. Nasukawa said, "I'm a little surprised myself. Nobody has defeated my opponent in the past and I'd like to be the man who makes history. My punch can change history. I'm not particular about the rules, with or without kicks. Boxing rules I wouldn't mind" (TELEGRAPH, 11/5).
