Manny Pacquiao will be ‘involved’ in Rizin 15. The promotion’s president Nobuyuki Sakakibara took to Twitter to make the announcement in the early hours of the morning:
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
— 榊󠄀原信行 Nobuyuki Sakakibara (@nobu_sakakibara) April 7, 2019
Rizin 14 was headlined by Floyd Mayweather who faced kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in what was billed as an exhibition match. However the Japanese star found himself on the wrong end of a vicious beating from the veteran boxer.
Tenshin is expected to appear on the Rizin 15 card but does not have an opponent. This will fuel rumours that he is going to be matched with Pacquiao in another exhibition match.
Rizin 15 is set for the Yokohama Arena on April 21st. Bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi faces Ben Nguyen in a non title match while Muhammed Lawal challenges Jiří Procházka for the inaugural light heavyweight belt.
Rizin 15, Yokohama, April 21st
Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Ben Nguyen (Bantamweight)
Muhammed Lawal vs. Jiří Procházka (For Inaugural Light Heavyweight Title)
Mikuru Asakura vs. Luiz Gustavo (Lightweight)
Kai Asakura vs. Justin Scoggins (Bantamweight)
Koji Takeda vs. Damien Brown (Lightweight)
Seiichiro Ito vs. Manel Kape (Flyweight)
Rena Kubota vs. Samantha Jean-Francois (Atomweight)
Roberto de Souza vs. Satoru Kitaoka (Lightweight)
Kana Watanabe vs. Justyna Haba (Flyweight)
Shinju Nozawa Auclair vs. Saray Orozco (Flyweight)
Karl Albrektsson vs. Christiano Frohlich (Light Heavyweight)
