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Boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather on Wednesday scrapped a planned fight with a Japanese kickboxer, claiming he had been duped into agreeing to the contest. In a lengthy statement posted on social media, Mayweather said he had been "blindsided" by organisers of the proposed bout against Tenshin Nasukawa, set for New Year's Eve in Saitama. "I want it to be clear that I, Floyd Mayweather, never agreed to an official bout with Tenshin Nasukawa," Mayweather wrote on Instagram. The 41-year-old retired welterweight champion said he had travelled to Japan last week to discuss participating in a private bout against Nasukawa for a "small group of wealthy spectators for a very large fee." "This exhibition was previously arranged as a 'Special Bout' purely for entertainment purposes with no intentions of being represented as an official fight nor televised worldwide," Mayweather wrote. Soon after arriving at a press conference in To...

American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. announced at a news conference on Monday 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 will be 20-year-old Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa at the RIZIN.14 event. Speaking at a news conference in Tokyo on Monday, Mayweather said the decision to fight in Japan was about expanding his global profile. "I wanted to do something different. I wanted to display my skills outside the US and be in a special fight," he said. "I spoke with my team and with RIZIN and we put it together. "I have fought in the US for all 50 of my fights... As a professional I haven't had a ...