Floyd Mayweather is coming out of retirement to face off against Tenshin Nasukawa in Saitama on New Year’s Eve.
Both fighters go into the exhibition match undefeated, and today’s fight will be Mayweather’s first since August 2017.
In his last fight Mayweather beat UFC star Conor McGregor in Nevada after a tenth round technical knockout.
Like the Mayweather McGregor bout, the Mayweather Nasukawa fight will be shown on pay per view only – with a pass costing just under £20.
And boxing fans who are thinking of trying to access an illegal stream of the fight have been given a warning.
FACT – the UK’s leading intellectual property protection organisation – has spoken out about the dangers of illegally streaming paid-for boxing matches.
Speaking before the big Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder bout, their CEO Kieron Sharp told Express.co.uk about the dangers of accessing illegal streams.
Mr Sharp said: “Streaming [the] fight on social media, a piracy site, or using a device, box or stick connected to your TV or mobile device is illegal.
Mayweather Tenshin Nasukawa free live stream – Boxing fans warned about illegal streams (Image: GETTY)
“By tuning in through anything other than official paid channels, viewers, as well as the providers, are breaking the law.”
Mr Sharp added: “As the streams appear to be free or provided at a much lower cost there is a further potential price to pay.
“Malware installations are often delivered as part of the plug-in that users are required to install; the consequent problems this can cause are obvious.
“Extreme pornography is also sometimes part of the illegal package, which creates unwelcome content for viewers.”
Mayweather Tenshin Nasukawa free live stream – This is Mayweather’s first fight since 2017 (Image: GETTY)
He added: “We welcome the Government’s recent announcement on its plans to streamline the piracy prosecution process, hopefully resulting in more people being brought to justice for facilitating illegal streaming.
“While it is getting harder to watch live sport illegally, boxing fans must be vigilant regarding the sites they click on and videos they watch on social media.
“Watching the fight this way is breaking the law.”
The news comes after a man who broadcast part of a pay-per-view boxing fight on his phone was fined thousands of pounds.
Mayweather Tenshin Nasukawa free live stream – Tenshin is an undefeated kickboxer (Image: GETTY)
Josh Mellor told The Independent he had no idea he was breaking the law when he streamed several minutes of pre-boxing fight coverage on Periscope.
He said: “I went round to my friend’s house to watch a pay-per-view boxing match and while we were waiting for the fight to start I started scrolling through Periscope.
“I’d heard in the pub, and from friends, that you could watch free live streams of the fight and wondered how as we’d paid to watch it.
“Whilst on Periscope, I saw a number of streams and while exploring I clicked the ‘Go Live’ button.
“I streamed the pre-fight coverage from my mate’s TV for a few minutes before quitting the app.”
Mayweather Tenshin Nasukawa free live stream – The big fight will take place in Saitama, Japan (Image: GETTY)
He added: “I think there are a lot of people out there who don’t understand that digital piracy comes with some very real risks.
“There are laws around it and the implications can be huge, from large fines to actual jail time.”
Mayweather Nasukawa will be shown online on Fite.TV – if you want to purchase a pass click here to be directed to the official site.
Passes for Mayweather Tenshin cost $24.99 which is £19.66. The fight is expected to start around 10am UK time.