Fans hoping to see boxing legend Floyd Mayweather take on UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov (or even Conor McGregor in a rematch) will have to keep waiting. The 41-year-old boxer will come out of retirement and step into the ring against 20-year-old kickboxing and MMA rising star Tenshin Nasukawa at Rizin 14 in Japan at the end of the year.
The bout will take place on December 31 at the 37,000-seat Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Prior to the official press announcement, Mayweather teased his upcoming bout via
a post on Instagram.
There are still plenty of details that must be sorted out, including specific rules of the bout, the number of rounds, weight limit, glove size, and how the fight broadcast will be distributed. For his part, Mayweather wasn't too concerned with sorting out the details.
"It's all about me going out there and displaying my skills against another skillful fighter. So we both want to go out there and display our skills and give people excitement. I just want to entertain," Mayweather said during the press conference accompanying the announcement.
"I will speak with my team and I will let my team get with Rizin and I'm pretty sure they'll come up with a great idea, but it's all about entertainment and that's what we want to do for the people."
Prior to this surprise announcement, there was tremendous speculation and hype building towards a potential super fight with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who submitted Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in October to win the belt. Other than a little back-and-forth jarring on social media, not much official has come of it.
WIth a perfect 50-0 record, with 27 KOs, Mayweather is considered one of, if not the, greatest boxers of all time. Mayweather came out of retirement to box UFC star Conor McGregor in August 2017, knocking out the MMA fighter in the 10th round. Mayweather had also mentioned plans to come out of retirement again for a rematch against Manny Pacquiao, which is still on the table but probably won't happen until after December.
As for his opponent, Nasukawa, a southpaw who holds the Rizin featherweight title, expressed excitement to face Mayweather.
"When I was offered this, I accepted right away without any delay whatsoever," Nasukawa said through a translator. "I would probably say this is my biggest event in life so far, and I'm very happy this is going to materialize. 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 will show that to you, so please stay tuned."
With Mayweather now booked, it'll be interesting to see what's next for Khabib Nurmagomedov, whose manager demanded $50 million for the next fight.