A rumored Mayweather vs. Pacquiao rematch set the stage for this fight.Benjamin Lowy/Getty Images
January 30, 2018: Mayweather Begins Teasing (Yet Another) Return
Floyd Mayweather came out of retirement to face Conor McGregor in the ring in 2017. He then claimed he was hanging the gloves back up shortly thereafter. That didn’t last long, though. On January 30, Mayweather posted the first of a series of teases that he would be transitioning to MMA. That move never came about, but it did show that Mayweather was far from finished in the ring.
September 15, 2018: Mayweather Meets with Manny Pacquiao at Tokyo Music Festival
Mayweather has gone to and from Japan a few times in 2018, with the first on-the-record visit occurring in September. At a music festival in Tokyo, he met with Manny Pacquiao and stated his intent to return to the ring for a rematch with the Filipino pugilist in December.
September 19, 2018: ESPN Reports Mayweather’s Plans to Fight in Japan
How Mayweather and Rizin came together remains something of a mystery, but rumbles of the union first came shortly after the music festival when Mayweather talked to TMZ. He detailed plans to take something of a tuneup fight ahead of the Pacquiao rematch, and he specifically discussed the possibility of facing a kickboxer or mixed martial artist.
How deep into talks was he with Rizin at that point? What brought them together? And does he still plan to face Pacquiao? All these things remain mysteries at this time.
November 5, 2018 (Tokyo): Rizin FF Announces Mayweather vs. Nasukawa
After a stretch of silence from the Money Team, Rizin FF made the shocking announcement on November 5 that Mayweather would face Tenshin Nasukawa at Rizin 14 on New Year’s Eve. It was a surreal sight on every level as the top boxer and kickboxing prodigy sat alongside MMA promoter Nobuyuki Sakakibara and pro wrestling legend Nobuhiko Takada.
November 7, 2018: Mayweather States Fight is Canceled
Less than two days after the fight announcement was made, Mayweather took to social media to declare that, no, he had not agreed to fight Nasukawa. In fact, he had never agreed to fight in Rizin! According to Mayweather, he was mislead into thinking that his discussions with the promotion were about arranging a clandestine exhibition for a group of unknown high-rollers—a claim that, obviously, does not quite pass the sniff test.
It had the feel of a public negotiating power move from Mayweather, who held all the cards and wanted to ensure that the fight would take place under a favorable ruleset for him. It was a wild turn of events, however, and one that still has many fight fans believing the match is off.
November 15, 2018: Mayweather Confirms Fight is Back On!
Those suspicions were all but confirmed a week later. Once again speaking through TMZ, Mayweather revealed the fight was back on and it would be a simple, straightforward boxing match. And not only was it a straightforward boxing match, it was a three-round exhibition match that wouldn’t be reflected on his record.
It was a brutal blow for both Rizin and fans, as it killed an intriguing mixed rules contest in favor of what will likely be a low-energy, by-the-numbers performance from Mayweather. Sakakibara confirmed the news in a media scrum days later and could barely hide his disappointment in the turn of events.
from Top Viral News Blog http://bit.ly/2ECiPp1
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