One day after Rizin Fighting Federation announced that it has signed a contract with boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, its CEO, Nobuyuki Sakakibara, made it clear that this is more like a promotional deal, not a fight contract.
As the first step of the partnership, Rizin will have famous kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa fight Filipino Fritz Biagtan, who will be in the ring as a "recommended fighter" of Pacquiao, in a kickboxing rules bout on April 21 at Yokohama Arena.
Sakakibara, who flew back from the Philippines where he met Pacquiao, said at a news conference on Tuesday that the 40-year-old boxer is scheduled to attend the event and greet Japanese fans from the ring. Sakakibara added that while Rizin would seek the possibility of having the former eight-division boxing world champion compete in the ring in the future, Pacquiao hopes to give his fellow, younger Filipino fighters a chance to contend for bigger promoters like Rizin in the future.