Floyd Mayweather and Mikuru Asakura face off. Photo by Getty Images It’s official: Floyd Mayweather will once again return to the ring. The Hall of Fame boxer faces Mikuru Asakura in a September 25 exhibition .
It will take place at the Rizin 38 show in the Saitama Super Arena near Tokyo. Hall of Fame boxer Floyd Mayweather is returning to the ring for another boxing exhibition. The 45-year-old announced Tuesday at a press event in Hawaii that he’ll fight Mikuru Asakura on September 25 at the Rizin 38 show in the Super Saitama Arena near Tokyo, Japan.
Rizin 38 is an eight-fight combat sports event featuring MMA matches, a kickboxing bout, and Mayweather’s exhibition. Floyd Mayweather at the Rizin press conference. Photo by Rizin”I’ve been to Japan so many times,” Mayweather said at the remote press conference Insider attended Wednesday.
“Japan is a great place, entertaining place — they love to be entertained. So, I’m going to go out there and entertain them, which is what I do best. “Mayweather’s last professional fight was a 2017 bout against Conor McGregor, in which the American stopped the Irishman in the 10th round of a box office sensation.
Though he retired from actual fighting shortly thereafter, Mayweather remains a mainstay on the exhibition scene, having beaten kickboxing prospect Tenshin Nasukawa four years ago in Japan, before going eight rounds with the internet celebrity Logan Paul in 2021. “I had a chance to go to Japan before, compete, and entertain the people,” Mayweather said this week. “It was an unbelievable turnout, and I’m sure this is going to be another unbelievable turnout.
“Asakura is “one of the best” in Japan, according to MayweatherMikuru Asakura, Rizin MMA star. Photo by RizinAgainst 30-year-old southpaw Asakura, Mayweather finds himself competing against an MMA fighter who specializes in karate, jiu jitsu, and boxing. His pro MMA record is 16 wins (eight knockouts, one submission, and seven decisions) against three defeats.
He challenged Yutaka Saito for the Rizin featherweight championship at Rizin 25 in 2020 but lost a unanimous decision. Since then, Asakura has won by knockout, lost by triangle choke, and triumphed in back-to-back decision wins. Mayweather praised Asakura by calling him “one of the best” in Japan, before emphasizing, of course, that Mayweather, himself, is “one of the best in the world.
“Mayweather’s security shoved Asakura during a face-offFloyd Mayweather and Mikuru Asakura face-off. Photo by Rizin / TwitterLater at the press conference, Mayweather and Asakura faced-off. However, it did not last long as a member of Mayweather’s security team — Ray Sadeghi, also known as Jizzy Mack — intervened to put his hand on Asakura, shoving him several steps backward.
Watch it right here:—Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) August 31, 2022Elsewhere on the Rizin 38 card, a kickboxing bout will take place between Nadaka Yoshinari and Bandasak So Trakunpet. The Rizin Super Atomweight Grand Prix semifinals will also take place, but the bracket is not yet set. The former Bellator MMA fighter Kyoji Horiguchi also competes and will fight Yuto Hokamura at bantamweight.
The event will be broadcast on Rizin Stream Pass and Abema in Japan. It is unclear if there will be an American broadcaster. Read the original article on Insider.
From: insider
URL: https://www.insider.com/floyd-mayweather-will-return-to-boxing-ring-for-september-exhibition-2022-8