Mayweather: I'm Older - Nasukawa Has Youth, He's Very Special
Five division world champion Floyd Mayweather expects fireworks when he faces 20-year-old Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in a Rizin Fighting Federation bout on New Year's Eve, the mixed martial arts organization officially announced Monday.
The fight between the once retired 41-year-old Mayweather, who has a perfect 50-0 record, and undefeated 27-0 Nasukawa, will take place at the Saitama Super Arena on Dec. 31.
The purse, fight format and weight category for the Nasukawa-Mayweather bout, among other details, are yet to be made known.
Before turning pro, Mayweather won a bronze medal in the featherweight division at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He held world titles in 20 of his 22 professional years.
Mayweather had indicated his interest to compete in an MMA event since stopping former Ultimate Fighting Championship belt holder Conor McGregor in a one-fight comeback boxing bout in August last year.
The fight with McGregor is Mayweather's only bout since September of 2015, when he won an easy twelve round decision over Andre Berto at welterweight.
Nasukawa, who competes at featherweight and physically was much smaller than Mayweather at the press conference, is undefeated in both kickboxing and MMA, and has a 27-0 record as a professional kickboxer with 21 wins by knockout.
"I think that he's young, very strong, very fast, and he's undefeated so it's obvious he's been doing something right to be where he's at," Mayweather said.
"This particular bout is a special bout, since we're giving people something they've never seen before. The world has never seen Mayweather compete live in Tokyo. I'm going to bring a lot of excitement, and that's really what the people want to see.
"He's very special, he's fast, he's strong. I'm older now and when it comes to experience, I have it on my side. He has youth on his side and he's going to bring a lot of excitement."
