Manny Pacquiao will follow in Floyd Mayweather’s footsteps in some capacity and be heading to Rizin.
Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced on Twitter that Pacquiao is expected to be involved at the promotion’s Rizin 15 show on April 21. Details on the deal and Pacquiao’s involvement with the show will be announced shortly, although there is no guarantee Pacquiao would ever fight for the promotion.
I’m here in the Philippines. RIZIN.15 will have this man involved in a way. We will be ready to announce as I get back to Japan! #rizin15 #MannyPacquiao pic.twitter.com/58lv5xwPMb
— NOBUYUKI SAKAKIBARA (@nobu_sakakibara) April 7, 2019
The move comes months after Mayweather pulled a similar stunt with the same company. Mayweather famously signed a deal with Rizin to have a special three-round exhibition with current Rise kickboxing featherweight champion Tenshin Nasuawa at Rizin 14 on New Year’s Eve in 2018. Mayweather stopped Nasukawa in the first round, but with the bout being an exhibition and not an officially sanctioned fight, it didn’t count towards Mayweather’s 50-0 pro record.
Rizin 15 will take place at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan and will feature a number of notable MMA names in action. Bellator MMA veteran King Mo will fight for the inaugural Rizin light heavyweight championship and Ben Nguyen will take on Kyoji Horiguchi.
Pacquiao last fought in January, defeating Adrien Broner by unanimous decision to successfully retain his WBA “Regular” welterweight title. Although Pacquiao’s next fight has yet to be announced, a prior report stated that Pacquiao could potentially face WBA “Super” champion Keith Thurman later this year.
