- Title: Mayweather to fight in Japan on New Year's Eve
- Date: 5th November 2018
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (NOVEMBER 5, 2018) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** UNDEFEATED AMERICAN BOXER FLOYD MAYWEATHER ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE AND GREETING RIZIN FIGHTING FEDERATION PRESIDENT NOBUYAKI SAKAKIBARA MAYWEATHER POSING FOR CAMERAS MAYWEATHER'S 'THE MONEY TEAM - TMT' LOGO (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNDEFEATED AMERICAN BOXER, FLOYD MAYWEATHER, SAYING: "I wanted to do something different. I always wanted to display my skills outside the U.S. and be in a special fight and so, this presented itself, I spoke with my team, I got with RIZIN and we put it together. You know, I've fought in the U.S. - all 50 fights, actually, were in the U.S. But as an amateur, I was able to travel and fight against Russia, fight against Cuba, fight against so many different other countries, but as a professional, I haven't had a chance to go outside the U.S. to display my skills and display my talent for the world. And I chose Japan because it's such a great place and they've got great people. The fighting atmosphere is unbelievable." MAYWEATHER SITTING NEXT TO HIS ADVISOR AND CEO OF ONE ENTERTAINMENT BRENT JOHNSON (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNDEFEATED AMERICAN BOXER, FLOYD MAYWEATHER, SAYING: "We want to continue and I want to continue to build my relationship with Money Team Tokyo, I want to continue to come over here and bring other fighters over here. So, like I said before, my company can continue to grow and RIZIN can continue to grow, but I would love to continue to work with RIZIN because, RIZIN, like I said before, is an unbelievable company, and my company, you know, we've been making some huge fights happen in the U.S. but we look forward to taking the Mayweather promotions banner and the TMT (The Money Team) banner worldwide and if it takes working with a great guy like this (points to Sakakibara), there's no problem." MAYWEATHER SITTING NEXT TO SAKAKIBARA (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNDEFEATED AMERICAN BOXER, FLOYD MAYWEATHER, SAYING: "As far as the weight class and the rules, we'll talk about that, we'll get that situated, you know, within the next couple of weeks." MAYWEATHER SITTING NEXT TO JOHNSON (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNDEFEATED AMERICAN BOXER, FLOYD MAYWEATHER, SAYING: "And far as, you know, they said money is the motivation. Well, we all know that I had a great career, I was very truly blessed to be in the sport a long time and make over a billion dollars in the sport, and to make smart investments." VARIOUS OF MAYWEATHER'S OPPONENT, JAPANESE KICKBOXER TENSHIN NASUKAWA (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPANESE KICKBOXER, TENSHIN NASUKAWA, SAYING: "This the biggest event of my entire life, I think. I would like to prove with my own fists what others couldn't do in the past." VARIOUS OF MAYWEATHER, NASUKAWA AND SAKAKIBARA POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS NASUKAWA POSING / MAYWEATHER POSING
- Embargoed: 19th November 2018 06:50
- Keywords: boxing MMA mixed martial arts Mayweather Japan Tenshin Nasukawa kickboxing
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
- City: TOKYO, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Boxing,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA00195898OV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. announced at a news conference on Monday (November 5) that he had signed with Japanese mixed martial arts promotions company RIZIN Fighting Federation to fight kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa on New Year's Eve in Saitama.
The undefeated 41-year-old, who has won world boxing titles in five different weight categories, has never fought professionally in mixed martial arts and it has yet to be decided what format and rules the fight would follow.
His opponent at the event, RIZIN.14, will be 20-year-old Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa. Nasukawa competes in RIZIN championships in both MMA and pure kickboxing, and has won all four of his MMA fights.
While boxing rules restrict bouts to the use of fists, MMA rules can incorporate kicks, knees and elbow strikes, as well as wrestling, joint locks and chokes. Mayweather said the terms of the fight would be decided in the coming weeks.
Mayweather said the decision to fight in Japan was about expanding his global profile. "As a professional, I haven't had a chance to go outside the U.S. to display my skills and display my talent for the world," he said.
Mayweather's last bout was in 2017 when he beat Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor, running his boxing record to 50-0 and earning close to $300 million. The boxer had come out of a near two-year retirement to fight McGregor and afterwards said he was done with the sport.
The finances of the RIZIN deal were not disclosed at Monday's news conference. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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