Floyd Mayweather eyeing big TMT-branded events in Japan
As announced a few weeks back, boxing legend Floyd Mayweather is looking to expand his business in Japan following his blockbuster NYE 2018 exhibition bout with Tenshin Nasukawa at RIZIN 14.
Floyd Mayweather is looking to bring TMT (The Money Team) combat sports events to Japan for at least one big show per year. The first of which is currently in talks to take place on NYE 2019.
The events will, seemingly, be a mixture of boxing and MMA bouts, as well as professional bouts and special exhibition bouts.
According to Shukan Shinchou, TMT Japan is hoping to book some massive fights in the future.
- Floyd Mayweather vs. Ryoto Murata (Boxing Exhibition)
- Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao II (Boxing Exhibition)
- Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Takeru
- Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Koki Kameda
Obviously, despite losing to Mayweather in their exhibition match-up, the boxing superstar saw something in the 20-year-old Nasukawa if they are eyeing multiple potential fights for him.
According to TMT Japan, all fighters involved with these shows will be paid pretty handsomely. They are also looking to work with some Japanese combat sports organizations to co-promote and whatnot.
Floyd Mayweather needs no introduction, but a few of the names being discussed for the initial show may.
Ryota Murata possesses an impressive 14-2 record with 11 knockouts. He lost his WBA Middleweight Championship against Rob Brant late last year, but has been granted a rematch. That bout will take place in July, live in Japan.
The big deciding factor for his inclusion, though, is the fact that Murata is the king of Fuji TV in Japan. His world title victory did a 20.5% rating in 2017. This is important because Fuji TV is the network that TMT Japan is hoping to broadcast their events on. So a Murata vs. Mayweather fight makes all the sense in the world.
Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Takeru is the ultimate kickboxing match-up right now for fans of the sport. They are the two hottest fighters in Japanese kickboxing, by a long shot, and a fight between them is the ultimate dream for most. Unfortunately, it has not been able to happen. This due to the fact Tenshin Nasukawa is in business with RIZIN and RISE whilst Takeru is working exclusively with K-1.
So a fight between the 29-0 Tenshin and the 37-1 Takeru would be a monumental match-up for TMT Japan if they can – somehow – do the impossible and book it.
The other man that may fight Tenshin if TMT Japan has their way is Japanese boxing legend Koki Kameda, a former three-division boxing world champion.
Though retiring in 2015, the 33-2 Koki Kameda remains one of the biggest box-office stars in the history of Japanese combat sports. Don’t let his recent inactivity fool you, Kameda is just 32-years-old and has never suffered a knockout loss in his career.
“The Fighting Fist of Naniwa” has the second-highest rating in Japanese fighting history. That being a 43.1% on TBS back in 2009 when he won the WBC Flyweight Championship against Daisuke Naito.
