No deal: Mayweather says he never agreed to bout

TOKYO – Floyd Mayweather has called off his bout with Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa and says he was “blindsided” by promoters of the proposed New Year’s Eve event.

Mayweather posted a statement on Instagram saying: “First and foremost, I want it to be clear that I, Floyd Mayweather, never agreed to an official bout with Tenshin Nasukawa.”

Mayweather attended a news conference in Tokyo on Monday, when the Dec. 31 fight against the 20-year-old kickboxer was announced.

“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,” Mayweather posted. “I want to sincerely apologize to my fans for the very misleading information that was announced during this press conference and I can assure you that I too was completely blindsided by the arrangements that were being made without my consent nor approval.”