Undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. was present at a Rizin Fighting Federation press conference on Nov. 5. It was then officially announced that “Money” Mayweather would be taking on kickboxing prodigy Tenshin Nasukawa in a “special rules” MMA bout at Rizin 14 on Dec. 31.
However, the fight is no longer happening.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. later took to social media to reveal that he has backed out of the fight after claiming that Rizin FF took the event in a new and unexpected direction without his consent.
“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.”
Speaking on ESPN’s Ariel & The Bad Guy, UFC veterand Chael Sonnen has since come forward with his thoughts on the incident.
“Huge miss here by Floyd Mayweather.” Sonnen said. “He has brought down his brand.”
“Look, it’s tough and Floyd stubbed his toe on this one.” Sonnen later added. “It was a tremendous mistake.” Sonnen conluded.
Check it out within the video provided below.
