Both Mikuru Asakura and Floyd Mayweather were present at today’s RIZIN Hawaiian presser. The two of them will face each other at ‘Super’ RIZIN on September 25th at Saitama Super Arena. The Japanese fighter proposed to his opponent a boxing match in MMA gloves.
The presser was held in order to announce additional matchups for both RIZIN 38 and ‘Super’ RIZIN. Hawaiian MMA legend BJ Penn and Enson Inoue were present as the promotion’s CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced that RIZIN will hold an event in Hawaii in 2023.
In the third and final part of the press conference, Asakura and the legendary boxer traded some verbal barbs.
In the opening statement Asakura said:
“Hello, this is Mirai Asakura. On September 25th, I would like to give Mayweather a strong punch in the face.”
Next, the two of them answered reporters’ questions with Mayweather announcing that he will try to entertain the crowd:
“I’ve been to Japan many times. There’s great entertainment. I want to put on a fight that everyone can really enjoy. I did it last time. This time I got a great chance. I’ll do my best. I heard that Asakura is the best fighter in Japan, but Mayweather is also the best fighter in the United States.”
The press conference took an unexpected turn when Mayweather brought up Ren Hiramoto as his interpreter. The former kickboxer and current RIZIN roster member translated Mayweather’s statement into Japanese.
Asakura prepared a surprise of his own when he pointed at RIZIN’s open fingers glove and said to Mayweather:
“I’ll give you an open finger glove as a gift, so use that glove. If you’re confident that you can do it, let’s do it on the day of the match.”
Interestingly enough the undefeated boxer stated that he’s ready to make a jump to MMA:
“From what I can tell if RIZIN wants me to do MMA… I always practice both very hard. I’m doing it and I’m ready to do it, it’s no different than when I fought Conor McGregor… This time it’s only been decided that we’ll be fighting in boxing.”
The fight is scheduled to headline the ‘Super’ RIZIN event, which will take place on September 25th. Both RIZIN 38 and ‘Super’ RIZIN will be available as Pay-Per-View on ABEMA TV.
