Floyd Mayweather will take on little-known mixed martial artist Mikuru Asakura in his next exhibition bout which is scheduled to take place in Japan in September.
Mayweather retired from professional boxing following his 50th career win over Conor McGregor in 2017 but has since plundered a fortune from the exhibition scene. He knocked out Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa inside a round on New Year's Eve in 2018 before being taken the distance by YouTube star Logan Paul last summer.
Mayweather, 45, recently took on former sparring partner Don Moore in Abu Dhabi with the fight again going the distance without being scored. His clash with Asakura will take part under the RIZIN promotion with an exact date and venue to be announced later this month.
"I got to where I got to by working extremely hard," Mayweather said on Monday. "I’m always focused. I’m always pushing to be the best. It’s still a great feeling to travel the world, do these exhibition fights and entertain people from all walks of life. I’ve seen every style. My job is just to go out there, have fun and be my best. September we’re going to have fun and entertain people. I’m Floyd Mayweather to him. He’s just another opponent to me."
Asakura is a former two-division champion and has competed with RIZIN since 2018. He has campaigned at 145lb, a similar weight to Mayweather at the end of his career, but has. no boxing experience and an MMA record of 16-3. "I’m an MMA fighter but I’m going to use this opportunity and I’m going to use him to raise my name and my value internationally," he said. "I will win this fight."
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Mayweather was inducted into the Hall of Fame last weekend following a career in which he won world titles in five weight divisions. He has been linked with exhibition bouts against former rivals Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan but has for now taken an easier route.
"I’m very happy to be sitting in between these two athletes for this event which will be Floyd Mayweather’s second with RIZIN," Nobuyuki Sakakibara, CEO of Rizin, said. "Floyd Mayweather was supposed to fight in an exhibition in Japan earlier in the year with an organization called Mega. However, due to the pandemic it has been postponed and RIZIN has taken over the contract for Floyd Mayweather’s next fight in Japan."
