Floyd Mayweather comes out of retirement as he announces his return to the ring in Tokyo in February

[LionDen]

Floyd Mayweather is set to make a sensational return to the ring next year with a fight lined up in Tokyo for February 28.

The boxing legend will temporarily come out of retirement again to headline an event dubbed 'Mega 2021' in the Japanese capital, according to La Provence, but an opponent is yet to be named.

Mayweather, 43, hinted last week on an Instagram video that he would be fighting again in Japan - but it may not be boxing as the show he is set to be on is a new MMA event.

'Tokyo, Japan, I will be back in 2021... Me and my team are going to do something big at the Tokyo Dome. Japan, I'm on my way.'

The former multi-weight world champion called into a press conference on Monday to announce he would be competing on the MMA show.

The undefeated boxer wowed the Japanese fighting fans on New Year's Eve back in 2018 when he easily defeated their kickboxing hero Tenshin Nasukawa in an exhibition fight - which earned him £7million - in just over two minutes.

Mayweather, who also has a number of business ventures in Japan, is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time and has repeatedly ruled out a return to the ring unless he was offered the right opponent for the right money.

The American's last professional fight was a money-spinning showdown in 2017 with UFC star Conor McGregor, which he won via a 10th-round stoppage, upping his career record to 50-0, and took home a pay cheque worth $275m (£200m) for his night's work.

He has talked of his desire to fight McGregor again or face recently retired UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov on multiple occasions but only if it was for $300m (£228m).

The retired superstar has also regularly said that he has 'something big' planned with UFC president Dana White in 2021, and flirted with the idea of crossing over to MMA.

However, event organisers suggested in a press release on Monday that Mayweather might not be the only big-name boxer on the Tokyo bill.

Details of Mayweather's latest return are scarce at present but the most likely scenario is that the fight will be an exhibition.

dailymail.co.uk

[Smartmark]

Hopefully he gets clobbered.