Former five division world champion Floyd Mayweather will head back overseas to Chechnya in 2018, to hold a master class for Chechen boxers and MMA fighters in the framework of a grand show, according to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said .
In the beginning of December, Mayweather visited the head of Chechnya. He promised that after the New Year he would come to Grozny with a large group of well-known boxers to support the Chechen athletes.
"Floyd Mayweather will come to Chechnya in 2018 and hold master classes for Chechen boxers and MMA fighters," Kadyrov announced during an interview on Grozny radio.
Kadyrov has stated that when Mayweather arrives next year, that he "planned on sparring with him."
During his recent tour of Eastern Europe, Mayweather told reporters that he intends to obtain Russian citizenship and plans to buy property in the country.
According to Kadyrov, Mayweather would like to have his own home in Grozny.
Mayweather's visit to Kadyrov was highly controversial and highly criticized by reporters.
The Eastern Euro leader has long been accused of human rights violations.
In fact, things are heating up this week between Kadyrov and the United States.
The US has moved to impose financial sanctions on Kadyrov over the alleged human rights abuses.
Washington has accused Mr Kadyrov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, of involvement in repression, torture and murder.
On Wednesday, the US Treasury announced that it was imposing sanctions against Mr Kadyrov, including visa bans and asset freezes, under the 2012 Magn** Act.
Kadyrov responded by mocking the US move in an Instagram post in which he said "a sleepless night is waiting for me. I can be proud that I'm out of favour with the special services of the USA."
Kadyrov, who was appointed Chechen president by Mr Putin in 2007, has a strong alliance with his Russian counterpart. He has frequently voiced support for the pro-Putin rebels in eastern Ukraine and for Russia's annexation of Crimea.
A former rebel, Mr Kadyrov leads a powerful, much-feared private militia called the "Kadyrovtsy". Human rights groups accuse them of torture, kidnappings and assassinations in Chechnya, a mainly Muslim republic in the North Caucasus left devastated by war in the 1990s. Critics have also accused Mr Kadyrov of amassing vast personal wealth and abusing his political post.
2023-10-20 05:51:52
