Floyd Mayweather vs. Tenshin Nasukawa rules announced

One of the many questions surrounding the Floyd Mayweather vs. Tenshin Nasukawa fight was finally answered. Mostly.

The rules of the exhibition matchup were released by Mayweather’s Swanson Communications public relations team Thursday. Mayweather and Nasukawa were both at Mayweather’s boxing club in Las Vegas on Thursday for a media day. Nasukawa, a 20-year-old kickboxing prodigy, worked out for the reporters gathered, many of them from his native Japan.

Per the release, Mayweather vs. Nasukawa will be conducted under straight boxing rules for three rounds of three minutes each. Both men will wear 8-ounce Rizin gloves and the contest will be conducted at a weight of 147 pounds. There will be no judges, so seemingly no decisions after those three rounds.

“This will be full contact competition, but the bout is not going on boxing or MMA records,” the release stated.

Nasukawa typically fights around 121 pounds. He’ll be giving up about three inches to the 5-foot-8 Mayweather, who fought Conor McGregor last year at 154 pounds.

The exhibition will take place as part of Rizin 14 on Dec. 31 at Saitama Super Arena in Japan. This will be the first time Mayweather, the undefeated boxing superstar, fights in that country.

”I love competing against fighters from all walks of life like in my amateur days,” Mayweather said Thursday, per the release. “It’s all about entertainment. Nine minutes of entertainment. It’s going to be amazing.

”I’m in the entertainment business. That’s what I go out there to do. I love to do this. I’m working out to put on a show for three rounds.”

Nasukawa has been in Las Vegas for the last few days, sparring with the likes of boxer Jorge Linares, who fought Vasyl Lomachenko earlier this year.

”There’s never been a Japanese fighter to face Floyd Mayweather in the ring,” Nasukawa said, per the release. “As an athlete, this is something that’s a great honor and a challenging task. I’d like to make a big impression.”

Rizin 14 will also include a major MMA champion vs. champion matchup between Bellator bantamweight titleholder Darrion Caldwell and Kyoji Horiguchi, Rizin’s champ. Nasukawa defeated Horiguchi, a former UFC title challenger, in a kickboxing match in September.

The full Rizin NYE card can be found here.