The opponent scheduled to face Floyd Mayweather on a Japanese MMA promotion card, Tenshin Nasukawa, has been named Kickboxing Athlete of the Year at the Global Martial Arts Awards 2018 at a grand ceremony in Singapore.
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The 20-year-old has an undefeated record in kickboxing with 27 wins from 27 contests, and has ventured into MMA where he holds a four from four record, and was picked from seven athletes for the award in a ceremony held by ONE Championship.
Nasukawa was named Male Athlete of the Year, and was also nominated for Martial Arts Hero of the Year, in a category also populated by UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.
The youngster was penciled in to face undefeated boxer Mayweather on the Rizin 14 end-of-year card on December 31 on Monday, the announcement being made at a news conference.
However, Mayweather, 41, said on Wednesday that the details of a deal between the two had been lost in translation, claiming he had signed only up for a three-round untelevised exhibition fight exclusive only to a small crowd for a "very large fee."
Between the fight being announced and annulled, Nasukawa had gained a new following in the combat sports world from relative obscurity for the way he dealt with trash talk from motormouth king Conor McGregor