Floyd Mayweather to fight kickboxing star Tenshin Nasukawa at RIZIN 14 in December in Japan | Boxing

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Because nothing in combat sport should surprise anyone any more, undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather will reportedly fight in a bout at Rizin 14 at Saitama Super Arena in Japan on Dec. 31. 

The shock move was announced at a press conference in Tokyo this week.

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Rizin Fight Federation (RFF), is one of the biggest MMA organizations in Asia, and was founded by the former president of Pride FC, Nobuyuki Sakakibara. 

Mayweather will fight Japanese kickboxing superstar Tenshin Nasukawa, who has an unblemished record in 27 professional fights.

It is unclear at this stage whether the reported fight will be contested under boxing, kickboxing or MMA rules, although Mayweather posted a photo to social media of himself wearing a pair of MMA gloves. 

According to Sakakibara, the weight hasn’t been decided upon yet, and the bout will be contested “under special rules.”

One of the most exciting kickboxers on the planet, 20-year-old Nasukawa has a series of highlight reel knockout wins. 

Here’s a glimpse of what he can do. 

At the surprise press conference in Japan, Mayweather spoke about The Money Team’s partnership with Rizin.

“I love that I was able to get with two heavy hitters from my team and we were able to come together to make this event happen,” he said. 

“I couldn’t choose a better company than Rizin.

“Rizin hgas done a remarkable job with the fighters. I look forward to giving you guys entertainment come Dec. 31.

“My relationship with Rizin doesn’t just end here. I look forward to taking this world wide.”

Check out the full press conference below.

“My role as a fighter is to make sure fighting here in Japan gathers a lot of excitement, and when I was offered this fight I accepted right away without any delay whatsoever,” Nasukawa said through a translator. 

“I would probably say that this is my biggest event in life so far and I’m very happy it’s going to materialize. 

“You might be surprised, and honestly, I’m a little surprised myself. 

“Nobody has defeated my opponent in the past, and I’d like to be the man to create history. My punch can change history.” 

Here’s the promo video that was played at the press conference. 

Mayweather’s last bout was another clash of combat sports, when he stopped UFC superstar Conor McGregor in nine rounds in a boxing match in Las Vegas last year. 

He had most recently been linked to a fight with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov after the Russian defended his 155-pound title against McGregor in October. 

Nasukawa most recently earned a three-round unanimous decision victory over fellow Japanese star Kyoji Horiguchi at Rizin FF 13 in September.

WHAT IS RIZIN?

Rizin is a Japanese based mixed marital arts promotion. It held its first events in December 2015 when it staged a Rizin World Grand-Prix, won by Muhammad Lawal. 

Rizin has held 15 fight cards since then, with all of them being staged in Japan. 

The promotion has been the home to some serious talent, with Mirko Cro Cop, Fedor Emelianenko, Wanderlei Silva and Jerome Le Banner all appearing in fights staged by the company. 

UFC veterans who have fought under the Rizin banner include Diego Brandao, Shane Carwin, Takanori Gomi and Ian McCall. 

WHAT WEIGHT WILL FLOYD MAYWEATHER FIGHT TENSHIN NASUKAWA?

We don’t know that yet, but its bound to be a contentious decision. 

Mayweather’s win over McGregor was fought at boxing’s super-welterweight limit of 154 pounds (69.85 kg). His previous two fights — against Andre Berto and Manny Pacquiao — were both fought at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds (66.68 kg).

Nasukawa’s last fight, in September, was fought at 126 pounds (57 kg) in Rizin’s flyweight kickboxing division.

Fighting at that weight in boxing would make Nasukawa a featherweight, which is still one weight class lighter than where Mayweather won his first world titles in 1998. 

After fighting the first 27 of his professional bouts at the super featherweight limit of 130 pounds (58.97 kg), Mayweather moved up to lightweight (135 pounds/61.23 kg) in 2002. 

Mayweather hasn’t fought below 140 pounds since 2005.

“As far as the weight class, we’ll talk about that in the next couple of weeks,” Mayweather said. 

“Throughout my career, I never fought at a higher weight class, but I was always a smaller fighter.

“It’s really all about the skills, it’s not about the weight.”

WHAT RULES WILL MAYWEATHER’S FIGHT WITH NASUKAWA BE UNDER?

Again, we don’t yet know. 

Rizin boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara said the bout would be held under “special rules,” which could mean a mix of kickboxing and boxing rules apply. 

It’s unknown what these would entail, but McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh revealed some potential hybrid rule sets recently. In an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Kavanagh said talks were underway for a rematch between the Irish star and Mayweather with “special striking rules” to be enforced, including only allowing leg kicks.

“I’m not particular about the rules — with or without kicks — it could be just boxing,” said Nasukawa.

“I wouldn’t mind.”

Mayweather responded: “I just want to entertain. That’s what we want to do for the people.”

WHY IS FLOYD MAYWEATHER FIGHTING IN RIZIN?

Let’s be honest, it’s about money. Lots of it. Mayweather says he also wants to keep pushing the boundaries. 

“We all know that I had a great career, I was very blessed to be in the sport a long time and to make over a billion dollars in the sport and to make smart investments,” Mayweather said. 

“This particular bout is a special bout. We’re giving the people something that they’ve never seen before. The world has never seen Mayweather compete live in Tokyo.

“I’ve seen a lot of fans from Japan come to Las Vegas and come to the U.S., so I said to my team ‘let’s do something different and come to Japan.'”



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