It wasn't that long ago that we were hearing about Mayweather's exciting new fight scheduled for the end of the year, but now it appears that it's been cancelled - and, as far as the 41-year-old boxer is concerned, it was never happening in the first place.
This would have been the second time that Mayweather has come out of retirement for an unconventional fight, after last year's bout with UFC fighter Conor McGregor in the boxing ring. The former world champion said he was going up against the (similarly unbeaten) kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in Japan - a man over twenty 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 at the time. "I want to give the people what they want - blood, sweat and tears."
However, just days after he announced what was believed to be his 51st professional boxing fight, Mayweather has said that not only is he not going through with it, but claimed he had never agreed to the fight either. In addition to this, he has appeared to remove earlier traces of the event from his social media.
Mayweather, who boasts a professional record of 50-0, took to Instagram to dispute the widely-circulated news. There, he wrote:
"Now that I am back on U.S. soil after a long and disappointing trip to Tokyo, I now have the time to address you, my fans and the media in regards to the upcoming event on December 31st that was recently announced.
"First and foremost, I want it to be clear that I, Floyd Mayweather, never agreed to an official bout with Tenshin Nasukawa. In fact (with all due respect) I have never heard of him until this recent trip to Japan."
He then went on to describe how he was actually asked to participate in a "9 minute exhibition of 3 rounds" with an opponent selected for him. This event was supposed to be for only a small group of spectators and would be for "a very large fee," according to Mayweather. The 'special bout' was not meant to be represented as an official fight nor would it have been televised worldwide.
"Once I arrived to the press conference, my team and I were completely derailed by the new direction this event was going and we should have put a stop to it immediately," he added, before apologising to his fans for the "very misleading information that was announced during this press conference," and claiming he was "completely blindsided" by arrangements made without his approval.
"For the sake of the several fans and attendees that flew in from all parts of the world to attend this past press conference, I was hesitant to create a huge disturbance by combating what was being said and for that I am truly sorry."
Then, somewhat strangely, he concludes by adding:
"I am a retired boxer that earns an unprecedented amount of money, globally, for appearances, speaking engagements and occasional small exhibitions."
They don't call him 'Money' for nothing, but it looks like this big payday turned out to go south just as soon as it was announced. However, the response wasn't all in Mayweather's favour, especially since many people remember his comments from just last weekend.
It's a shame, as that fight could have been something special.
