Former welterweight world champion Floyd Mayweather Jnr will make a shocking return to the ring on New Year’s Eve when he takes on unbeaten kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in Japan. The rules for the fight with Mayweather’s surprise opponent – who is unbeaten in 27 contests – are yet to be determined.

There are speculations that the fight could be the 41-year old’s lean towards a possible MMA bout in 2019, which could be a controversial Conor McGregor rematch or a more financially lucrative fight with UFC 229 champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Mayweather is likely to go home with another multi-million dollar fortune from his December 31 fight that is billed for the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, after he revealed the shock news at a press conference overnight.

Rizin Fighting Federation are co-promoting the fight and they have guaranteed that the fight would take place under “special rules” although no specifications where given as to the nature of the fight.

Mayweather who has come out of retirement a second time said: “Rizin has done a remarkable job with the fighters, I look forward to giving you guys entertainment come December 31, but my relationship with Rizin, it doesn’t stop just here. I look forward to taking this worldwide.”

When Mayweather, with a flawless 50-0 record, fought Irishman McGregor in his last fight back in August 2017, he made an exception of not fighting with regular heavy gloves. Now he faces a potentially dangerous prospect in heralded kickboxer Nasukawa, who has cautioned that he packs a punch that will “change history”.

“I would probably say that this is my biggest event in life, so far,” said Nasukawa.

“I’m very happy that this is going to materialise.

“Nobody has defeated my opponent in the past.

“And I would like to be the man who makes history.

“My punch can change the history and I will show that to you, so please stay tuned.”