Money walks
Mayweather backs out of exhibition
That didn’t last long. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is staying retired after all — and alleging he was misled about the Monday press conference in Tokyo to announce a fight between him and Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa.
In an Instagram post, Mayweather said he was led to believe the bout would be a three-round exhibition for a “very large fee” for a group of wealthy spectators. The 41-year-old said he had never heard of the 20-year-old Nasukawa, an undefeated (27-0) kickboxer, before the press conference. During the presser, the two sides said they were discussing the possibility of a mixed-rules fight and negotiating a weight class for the New Year’s Eve bout, which had been scheduled for Saitama Super Arena, near Tokyo. The fight was put together by Rizin Fighting Federation, Japanese promoters of kickboxing and MMA.
The undefeated Mayweather said he went along with the press conference for the sake of fans and people who came from all over the world to attend it.
“I was hesitant to create a huge disturbance by combating what was being said and for that I am truly sorry,” he wrote. “I am a retired boxer that earns an unprecedented amount of money, globally, for appearances, speaking engage- ments and occasional small exhibitions.”
Mayweather sang a different tune at the press conference.
“It wasn’t easy to make this happen,” he said then, “but we told the people anything is possible and now we’re here and we want to make sure we give the people in Tokyo what they want to see — blood, sweat and tears.”