50-0 former five-division world boxing champion, Floyd Mayweather is set to return for yet another exhibition fight. This time, ‘Money’ will take on MMA fighter, Mikuru Asakura under boxing rules. An official date is yet to be announced, however, it is expected to take place in September. This will mark Mayweather’s fourth exhibition bout since retiring undefeated in 2017 with a knockout over Conor McGregor.
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Post-Retirement Mayweather
We all know just how good Mayweather was when he fought professionally. He epitomised ‘hit and don’t get hit’ boxing. His defensive work was something to behold and he barely got touched with anything significant during his career. Following an impressive rise under the nickname ‘pretty boy’, where he fought far more on the front foot, he changed it up and became a defensive wizard.
Retiring in 2017 after his ‘money fight’ with McGregor, Floyd Mayweather has transitioned into exhibition boxing against fighters who have no business being in the ring with Mayweather. Is he taking these fights seriously? Who knows, but there is no doubt that he is yet to be in trouble in any of these bouts.
First, he fought Tenshin Nasukawa in 2018 in a strange fight for all involved. He knocked out the kickboxer in the first round. This was the first time that Mayweather fought in Japan and in September, he will return to Japan to face Asakura.
He then faced Logan Paul in a non-scored bout which went eight rounds. The ‘fight’ itself gained a lot of interest due to the size discrepancy. Paul is 6’2 and roughly 190lbs, with Mayweather sitting at just 5’8 and 155lbs.
Most recently, Mayweather had an exhibition bout with Don Moore last month, again going eight rounds in a non-scored bout.
Rizin’s Mikuru Asakura
Japan’s Mikuru Asakura has an MMA record of 16-3-0-1, securing eight wins via knockout. Most recently, he faced Yutaka Saito in December of last year. At 29 years old, Asakura fights at featherweight (145lbs) so will likely put on a little size in order to compete with Mayweather. Fighting out of the southpaw stance with a kickboxing background, it’s something slightly different for Mayweather, however, there is nothing that Mayweather hasn’t seen before.
The fight is set to take place under the Rizin banner.
