Mayweather's bout against Japanese kickboxer back on

TOKYO - Boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr and a Japanese kickboxer half his age will be aiming to knock each other out next month, despite the matchup being an exhibition, the fight's Japanese promoter said on Saturday.

The bout between Mayweather and Tenshin Nasukawa, first announced earlier this month, was abruptly scrapped by the American boxer over a "misunderstanding", according to the CEO of mixed martial arts promotor RIZIN.

But on Friday it was back on for New Year's Eve.

"It will be a non-official bout. It won't be on record. So it's an exhibition match," Nobuyuki Sakakibara told reporters at Haneda Airport in Tokyo after returning from talks with Mayweather in Los Angeles.

"But at worst it's not going to be a sparring... they will fight aiming to knock out," he added.

The Mayweather camp had been confused if the fight would be official or not, according to Sakakibara.

Asked if the bout could be canceled again, Sakakibara said: "I don't think there will be a cancelation unless unforeseen circumstances such as extraordinary natural phenomenon occur."

Mayweather has already said the fight would go ahead in Saitama, north of Tokyo, but would be an exhibition.

"We're going to make it happen. It's a no-brainer," the retired welterweight boxer told American website TMZ Sports in California on Wednesday.

The unbeaten 41-year-old, who won world titles in five different weight divisions, told the site the face-off would involve no kicking, saying: "It's going to be a little boxing exhibition."

Sakakibara confirmed the fight would be an orthodox boxing style without kicking, which will be a disadvantage for Nasukawa, an unbeaten kickboxer.

"But I want him to pull off something like a miracle," he said, adding that further details of rules will be discussed later.

Sakakibara also said the contracts remained unchanged as the highest paid for such an exhibition, but did not reveal the amounts.

The promoter compared the event to the first Rocky film, as well as to the 1976 match between Muhammad Ali and Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki.

Mayweather, who beat Irish UFC fighter Conor McGregor via a 10th-round technical knockout in a boxing match in August 2017, told TMZ Sports he would take part in the fight after all.

The best seats for the fight will cost 100,000 yen ($900) each. The cheapest seats cost 7,000 yen ($60).

Agence France-Presse