A match between American boxing legend Floyd Mayweather and Japan's kickboxing player Tenzin Nazukawa will be held on New Year's Eve, the chief executive of a mixed martial arts company said on Friday.
After the announcement of Nazukawa's confrontation on December 31 at a news conference in Tokyo this month, the US boxer retracted his words as soon as he returned to the United States.
In his account at Instagram, Mayweather wrote that he had just agreed to participate in a three-round tour of a small group of wealthy viewers for a large sum of money, without being officially televised or broadcasted around the world.
But Nobuyuki Sakakipara, chief executive of Rezin Vaiting, told Reuters on Twitter that the shootout would take place on December 31, although he did not specify which rules would be set and how long.
"The misunderstanding that took place with Mr. Mayweather will be resolved," said Sakakipara in a Friday editorial along with a picture of himself with Mayweather.
Sakakipara will hold a news conference on Saturday for details.
Mayweather, 41, retired for the second time in 2017 with a superb record without a defeat in 50 games after an unprecedented march in which he won the world title in five different weights.
But he has never been professional in any other form of martial arts, which is why sports fans are surprised to announce the face of his opponent.
The 20-year-old kickboxing player, Nazukawa, has won all four of his previous encounters.
