Floyd Mayweather Jnr is back in action on New Year’s Eve as he takes on kickboxing prodigy Tenshin Nasukawa.
16 months on from coming out of retirement to beat Conor McGregor in 10 rounds, Mayweather is back for another money-spinner – taking on a 20-year-old opponent in a carefully negotiated exhibition match.
The former five-weight world champion has made no secret of his motivation behind taking this fight – money, in case you were wondering – but Nasukama has designs on knocking the former welterweight king out cold on the final day of 2018.
Here's all you need to know about the last 'fight' of the year.
Date, UK start time and venue
Mayweather vs Nasukawa is part of the RIZIN 14 MMA card taking place at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan on Monday December 31.
The card is scheduled to get underway at 6am GMT with the Mayweather fight expected to get underway at around 10am.
TV channel and live stream
While the fight will not be available to watch in the US, there is good news for UK viewers with the fight available to watch live on FITE TV.
You can order the show here for the price of $24.99.
What are the rules?
Rizin confirmed last month the exhibition fight will be contested over three, three minute rounds under straight boxing rules.
Both fighters will be wearing eight ounce Rizin gloves – no judges will be present and the result will not go on either man’s boxing or MMA records.
Betting odds | TBC
Undercard
Bellator bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell is also fighting on the card taking on the Rizin equivalent Kyoji Horiguchi in a champion vs champion bout. Here’s the rest of the card.
Tenshin Nasukawa vs Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Kyoji Horiguchi vs Darrion Caldwell
Kanna Asakura vs Ayaka Hamasaki
Rena Kubota vs Samantha Jean-Francois
Yusuke Yachi vs Johnny Case
Ulka Sasaki vs Manel Kape
Yuki Motoya vs Justin Scoggins
Nobumitsu Osawa vs Tofik Musaev
Jiri Prochazka vs Brandon Halsey
Justyna Haba vs Shinju Nozawa Auclair
Damien Brown vs Daron Cruickshank
Mika Nagano vs Miyuu Yamamoto
Gabi Garcia vs Barbara Nepomuceno
Kazuyuki Miyata vs Erson Yamamoto
Prediction
How the fight came about…
Following an ‘official’ announcement from Rizin in November, Mayweather denied an agreement had been made just a few short days later.
The American wrote on Instagram he had been “blindsided by the arrangements that were being made without his consent and approval.”
Mayweather went onto explain he had been misled over the scale of the fight, being led to believe he was fighting “in an exhibition put on for a small group of wealthy spectators for a very large fee.”
The issue was resolved, however, with Rizen CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara later explaining “misunderstanding” with the American’s camp had been resolved.
Who is Tenshin Nasukawa?
20-year-old Nasukawa is the reigning RISE kickboxing featherweight champion and a former RISE bantamweight champion. His record in that code is a flawless one, having won all 27 of his fights. He also has a 4-0 record under MMA rules.
What they said
Mayweather: “I don’t worry about anything. I don’t have to train for three rounds. As far as in the sport of contact sports, I’ve seen everything throughout my career.”
“It’s just another day. Another day like I wake up, take shower, put my clothes on…,” he said. “Just fighting is something I’ve done for over 30 years, so it’s just another day. I worry about entertaining and things, but once the bell rings, it’s always entertainment. So it is about having fun, going out there and doing my best.”
Nasukawa: “I’m planning to show moves that will surprise him. “I’m going to capitalize on the kickboxing techniques that I’ve learned as much as I can. I can’t afford to let my mind wander for a second. I will use even more concentration than I have and I will try to be ready no matter when he throws me a punch.”
