Floyd Mayweather has recently announced his return to the fight game for a new bout that's set to take place on New Year's Eve. The famous American boxer came out of retirement to face off against UFC fighter Conor McGregor last year, and now it looks like he's coming back for another huge payday.
The fight will see him go up against unbeaten kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in Japan. The rules of this upcoming fight are yet to be confirmed, and it's unclear what they could be, given that both Nasukawa and Mayweather come from wildly different disciplines.
Mayweather, the former five-weight world champion, infamously beat UFC’s Conor McGregor in a boxing match last year, and after that win, it looks like he's not let the uneven fight stop him from trying something similar. The 41-year-old spoke to the BBC, explaining why he chose to take on Nasukawa, who is 20 years his junior.
"I wanted to do something different. I wanted to display my skills outside the US and be in a special fight," he said. "I want to give the people what they want – blood, sweat and tears."
Meanwhile, Nasukawa, the 20-year-old Japanese kickboxer showed supreme confidence for the upcoming battle, saying:
"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."
Given the history between them, it was only a matter of time before McGregor commented on the fight - especially since he has been hinting at a possible rematch between him and Mayweather at some point, potentially even in the octagon.
However, the Irish fighter's recent comments have been called out by many. On Instagram, he 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**k me hahah.
"What in the f**k is going on here? Who’s this little pr**k next to you ? That’s mad sh*t. Like something out of rush hour 5 or something.
"Chris tucker and Jackie f**king Chan back in this b*tch. F**king brilliant. Mad little b*stard you are Floyd. Fair f**ks to you mate. No lie. F**k it."
You can understand why people were offended by these comments, with many taking to social media to speak about their frustration with the way he referred to both fighters.
"In today’s episode of Conor McGregor saying racist sh*t: He refers to Tenshin Nasukawa as 'Jackie Chan'," one wrote, while another added: "I’m a big fan of Conor McGregor but I can’t back him up on that one, it’s some type of 12 years old bully sh*t 'Hey Jackie Chan' when he sees an asian guy and 'hey Apu' when it’s a brown guy."
While these comments have shocked many, they are also not completely unprecedented, given McGregor's penchant for offending others with his public statements.
After all, the infamous brawl that took place after Khabib Nurmagomedov's win over McGregor at UFC 229 supposedly started because of comments the Irishman and his team had made about Khabib's country and religion.