Mayweather vs Nasukawa: Another cancelled sporting event
Floyd Mayweather was set to take on Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in December. However, he took to his Instagram to state that he “never agreed to an official bout”. The 41-year old said that he was “completely blindsided” and has apologised to fans.
Boxing fans were hoping for another crossover clash following his fight against Conor Mcgregor last year. University of Portsmouth Boxing Society member Alex Hicks said: “It seemed to be a publicity stunt and a cash grab for the pair of them.”
This wouldn’t be the first time a big sporting event has been cancelled. Over the years sporting event organisers have had to abort their plans, due to issues within an organisation or unforeseen circumstances.
One example is the 2001 FIFA club world championship. The campaign was set to take place in Spain from 28 July to August 2001. However, it was cancelled, most importantly due to the financial problems of FIFA’s marketing partner ISL. The marketing firm was unable to avoid bankruptcy and the tournament wasn’t held until 2005.
The 1994 world series was set to be the championship series of Major League Baseball’s 1994 season. But on September 14, 1994, a strike by the MLB players association brought the series to a shocking halt. It was only the second time this had happened and the first time an MLB season had been cancelled since 1904.
September 11, 2001, is a date that is globally associated with 9/11. But golf fans will remember it was also the date the Ryder Cup was postponed. Two weeks before the competition was set to take place the September 11 attacks happened and, rightly, teams called for the Ryder Cup match to be postponed. The competition took place the following year and was held in England.
In 2014, UFC was expected to stage a headlining title fight event in August. Champion Jose Aldo would face №1 ranked featherweight, Chad Mendes. But Aldo suffered an injury in training which put him out of the fight and UFC decided to cancel the entire event after being unable to replace the main event.
As you can see, even in the efficient world of sport the unexpected does tend to happen. Throughout history, a variety of sports have faced problems that have led to cancelled events. Unfortunately, Mayweather’s much-anticipated clash against Nasukawa is one that joins the list.
