Floyd Mayweather: I'm not going to fight in an MMA ring. Everything is my rules

Floyd Mayweather has teased the idea of competing inside of competing in a "real" MMA bout on Instagram in the past, but the five-weight world boxing champion was never serious about it.

Mayweather will face Japanese kickboxing star Tenshin Nasukawa that will likely serve as the main event to Rizin 14 on New Year's Eve in Tokyo. The three-round exhibition will have no judges and will be fought under boxing rules. When asked by a reporter why he would not allow Nasukawa to fight under MMA rules, Mayweather got testy.

"Everything is always on my terms because I am the 'A' side," Mayweather stated. "I'm not going to fight in an MMA ring. If I do fight in an MMA ring [it will be] boxing only. Everything is my rules, my way. I work hard to put myself in the position where I call all of the shots. He may be a kickboxer, but he has to abide by my rules, simple and plain.

"No disrespect to [WBC heavyweight champion] Deontay Wilder and [former unified heavyweight world titleholder Tyson Fury, but I'm making more in a nine-minute exhibition (than) what they made after their heavyweight fight last weekend," Mayweather added.

Mayweather, a 1996 Olympic bronze medalist who closed out his distinguished career at 50-0 with a 10th round TKO against former UFC titlist Conor McGregor in August 2017, also confirmed that he is still happily retired and will not return to boxing, either. However, he also said that the Nasukawa bout would not be his only exhibition and is planning more shows of this nature around the world.

"I'm not going into somebody else's cage and do what they do. Everybody knows that Floyd Mayweather is a boxer. If anybody wants to fight against me, it's in a boxing ring," he said.

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