Floyd Mayweather: No official agreement to fight Tenshin Nasukawa

So, this fight between Floyd Mayweather and the Japanese kick-boxing phenomenon Tenshin Nasukawa, should feature a major MMA event on New Year's Eve in a 37,000-seat arena near Tokyo? Well, it is possible that the promoters of the fight took a little advance on themselves.

For example, they do not seem to have completely convinced Mayweather, judging by his Instagram post on Wednesday. The 41-year-old boxer said that he "had never accepted an official fight" and instead felt like he was going to participate in an "exhibition match" in front of a "small group of wealthy spectators".

Mayweather appeared Monday at a press conference in Tokyo with Nasukawa, apparently to promote the fight, but he said Wednesday that when he arrived at the press conference, his team and he were " completely derailed by the new direction taken by this event ", adding that they" should have put an immediate end to this ". He stated that he had been led to believe that it would be part of a "special fight" that was "purely for entertainment purposes, without the intention of being represented as cards." official fight ". televised worldwide. "

"I want to sincerely apologize to my fans for the very misleading information that was announced at this press conference," said Mayweather in his message, "and I can assure you that I too was completely blinded by arrangements made without my consent or approval. "

For his part, Nasukawa had reinforced the impression that the fight would be more or less "official". In a Twitter message aimed at Conor McGregor's unholy and chaotic response to the press conference, Nasukawa spoke of Mayweather's defeat in 2017 by the Irish star of the MMA, a boxing match saying, "I promise to avenge your loss. , so please watch my fight. "

A press release issued Monday by Rizin, the MMA organizing the fight, said (via MMA Mania) that Mayweather was facing Nasukawa at his December 31st event at Saitama Super Arena. According to the company, the only major problems in the fight were its format, leaving many observers suspect that it would only act boxing, but intrigued by the possibility that at least some MMA rules are in place .

"As for weight class and rules, we'll talk about it and we'll deal with it in the coming weeks," Mayweather told the press conference (via Yahoo Sports). "This particular fight is a special fight in that we give people something they have never seen before. The world has never seen Mayweather competing in Tokyo. "

The undefeated boxer, who has a record of 50-0 (Nasukawa, 27-0 in kickboxing, 4-0 in MMA matches), also said Monday that he was eager to strengthen his partnership with Rizin while developing its brand in Japan. "I would love to continue working with Rizin because Rizin is an incredible company," he said. "And my company, we have been fighting huge fights in the United States, but we look forward to bringing the Mayweather Promotions banner and the TMT banner to the world. "

In his Wednesday article, Mayweather pointed out an apparent gap between what Brent Johnson, a Los Angeles-based entertainment industry executive, told him that would have helped Rizin officials design the game, and what the Japanese company was boasting at the press conference. Mayweather claimed that he did not contradict them at the time because he "was hesitant to create a huge disruption by fighting what was being said".

It may not sound like the Mayweather that fight fans have seen – and heard – over the last two decades, it was far from having a waning purple at media events and on other occasions. It's possible that he was a little scared of being abroad with unknown promotional partners, but anyway, it remains to be seen if a version of the fight goes ahead.

It was reported that Mayweather was interested in possible reshuffles with McGregor and / or Manny Pacquiao, but the last line of his Instagram post seemed to be intended to give the impression that his career as a fighter in officially sanctioned fights would count for his record. was over, even though his dedication to raising as much income as possible was in full swing. "I am a retired boxer who earns an unprecedented amount of money in the world, for appearances, lectures and occasional small shows," he said.

Read more about The Post:

LaMelo Ball is back in basketball at high school and it's already absurd

NBA players were as impressed by Kentucky's defeat as everyone else

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith says the wizarding situation is "an abomination" and a "shame"

Bryce Harper and the nationals take the high road. Both will benefit.