Floyd Mayweather has announced he is to fight kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa on New Year’s Eve this year, after signing a deal with a mixed martial arts company.
The 41-year-old, former five-weight world champion will face off against the 20-year-old kickboxer in Japan. Mayweather recently beat UFC’s Conor McGregor in a boxing match last August, which extended his perfect record to 50 wins.
The rules for the next matchup are still yet to be decided. However, many people are excited to see the American back in the ring.
41-year-old Mayweather, who’s not fought since his bout with McGregor, said, as per the BBC:
I wanted to do something different. I wanted to display my skills outside the US and be in a special fight. I want to give the people what they want – blood, sweat and tears.
Nasukawa, a 20-year-old Japanese kickboxer, said:
It was a surprise offer but I accepted without hesitation. It’s the biggest moment in my life and I want to be the man who changes history. I’ll do that with these fists, with one punch – just watch.
Mayweather added that the rules and weight class of the upcoming fight will be discussed ‘in the next couple of weeks’.
One fan of Mayweather’s who, like a lot of modern relationships these days, shows his appreciation of the fighter through a series of light-hearted and slightly mocking messages on social media, is Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson.
50 Cent has been upping his social media game recently, like his hilarious dig at Ja Rule involving buying out a load of tickets for one of his gigs. 50’s latest post, however, has raised a few eyebrows, and not for a good reason.
Taking to Instagram, the rapper reposted a mockup of film poster that appeared to advertise a new Rush Hour film – the buddy cop movies featuring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.
Posting the photo, 50 Cent wrote:
Got damn Champ you did it again, everybody saying they can’t wait to see this fight with the 20 year old 125lb kick boxer. SMH
The photo was originally made and shared by Boxing Antics.
The rapper had previously posted another photo of the two fighters, writing:
Champ fighting a Uber driver before the IRS embarrass him again. Pay-per-view my ass, we watching this on YouTube.
After Conor McGregor also posted about the fight and compared it to the comedy movie, it wasn’t long before 50 Cent also got called out for making the same comparison.
Conor wrote:
Is that a tracksuit or a sauna suit Floyd haha wtf. is it hot in Tokyo or what’s the story here? that climate change is no joke f*ck me hahah
What in the f*ck is going on here? Who’s this little pr*ck next to you ? That’s mad sh*t. Like something out of rush hour 5 or something.
Chris tucker and Jackie f*cking Chan back in this b*tch. F*cking brilliant. Mad little b*stard you are Floyd. Fair f*cks to you mate. No lie. F*ck it.
To which many people responded, calling out McGregor for his post, calling it racist and insensitive.
McGregor, the former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion, is currently waiting for the outcome of a disciplinary hearing following his last fight with Nurmagomedov.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.