Report: Floyd Mayweather NYE Bout with Tenshin Nasukawa Back on as Boxing Match

Floyd Mayweather Says Tokyo Fight's Back On, 'We're Gonna Make It Happen' https://t.co/LLaP6WbJLV

— TMZ (@TMZ) November 15, 2018

Just a week after announcing the fight was no longer happening, Floyd Mayweather appears to have revived the furor about a boxing match against Japanese wunderkind Tenshin Nasukawa at Rizin FF 14 on New Year’s Eve in Japan.

Speaking to TMZ, Mayweather said on Wednesday night that the he intends to go ahead with the exhibition bout against Nasukawa at the end of this year. “We’re gonna make it happen. It’s a no-brainer. Just because I’m retired from boxing, I still make appearances worldwide and make a ton of money,” he told TMZ.

The undefeated boxer would not be putting his record on the line, as the bout would be slated as a short exhibition bout under boxing rules. “Rules,” Mayweather said, “It’s gonna be a little boxing exhibition. No kicking. I’m moving around with the guy for 9 minutes…”

For this appearance, Mayweather stands to make a great deal of money, remarking “…and of course, it’s gonna be the highest-paid exhibition ever.” Mayweather is coming off his massive boxing match against Conor McGregor, an event that scored a reported 4.3 million pay-per-view buys, earning him upwards of $200 million. The purse for this bout has not yet been announced.

Facing him would be 20-year-old undefeated kickboxing sensation Nasukawa, who holds a kickboxing record of 27-0 with 20 knockouts, and is also 4-0 in MMA -- all in Rizin FF -- with three finishes. Nasukawa recently defeated Rizin Bantamweight Grand-Prix winner and former UFC flyweight title challenger Kyoji Horiguchi in a wild kickboxing match.

Rizin FF 14 will take place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on Dec. 31, 2018. While multiple fighters including Kyoji Horiguchi and Rena Kubota have been announced as participants on the card, no official matchups have yet been revealed.