Floyd Mayweather vs. Tenshin Nasukawa: PPV Schedule, Odds and Fight Rules
Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. will be back in the ring on New Year's Eve at Tokyo's Saitama Super Arena when he takes on Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa.
The bout will be Mayweather's first since he saw off UFC champion Conor McGregor in August 2017 in Las Vegas. The victory extended his professional record to 50-0, and he's looking forward to taking on Nasukawa, per Dan Rafael at ESPN.
"I'm in the entertainment business," Mayweather said. "That's what I go out there to do. I love to do this. I'm working out to put on a show for three rounds. I'm going to go out there, have fun and do what I do. I'm enjoying life, and I'm going to enjoy this experience."
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According to OddsShark, Mayweather starts as the 6-25 favourite, while Nasukawa can be backed at 31-10.
PPV Schedule
FITE.tv, the official Rizin pay-per-view provider, will stream all the action from Tokyo (location depending). The action begins at 1 a.m. (ET), and the full schedule is available from Sherdog.
Fight Rules
The bout will operate under boxing rules and will consist of a trio of three-minute rounds. Both men will fight at 147 pounds and will wear Rizin eight-ounce gloves.
Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting provided a quick recap of the rules:
Mayweather has explained why this will be a boxing match with no kicking:
Meanwhile, Nasukawa has spoken about how he plans to take on one of boxing's greatest fighters, per World Boxing News:
"This is a great opportunity and we're happy to take it. I'm going to put everything out there and show my strengths. I think that I'm the faster fighter. I'm going to use my weapons against him.
"There's never been a Japanese fighter to face Floyd Mayweather in the ring. As an athlete, this is something that's a great honor and a challenging task. I'd like to make a big impression.
"I want to get the whole fight community, the whole country of Japan and the entire world involved in this fight. I'm going to go in there believing in myself and ready to prove myself."
The 20-year-old has a perfect record in his 28 professional kickboxing fights, but his meeting with Mayweather will be first professional boxing outing. As such, it's difficult to know quite how Nasukawa will fare against Money.
Mayweather has come out of retirement for the encounter, but as one of boxing's all-time greats, he should have the edge when it comes to quality and experience.
The nature of the bout being solely boxing also favours the 41-year-old, but Nasukawa has the speed and intensity to cause problems.
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