Floyd Mayweather (left) throws a punch at Japan’s Mikuru Asakura during their show fight in Saitama, Japan, on Sunday. TOKYO (AFP) – Unbeaten former world champion Floyd Mayweather knocked out Japanese mixed martial arts fighter Mikuru Asakura on Sunday in the latest streak of lucrative exhibitions for the post-retirement boxing great. Mayweather, now 45 and recently inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, fed his opponent with a right hand at the end of the second round as former welterweight opponent Manny Pacquiao saw him ring front row. The round ending bell sounded when Asakura hit the board, but failed to save the Japanese fighter who was unable to beat the count. Asakura, the popular MMA star and YouTuber in Japan, gave Mayweather a workout more than the last time the American ran an exhibition in Japan, against kickboxing prodigy Tenshin Nasukawa in December 2018. But the fight was another easy payday for Mayweather, nicknamed “Money,” who is said to be close to agreeing to a rematch in 2023 with UFC star Conor McGregor. Mayweather retired in 2017 with an impeccable 50-0 record after defeating McGregor in his last fight. The Mayweather-Asakura match did not have any judges, which means that the outcome will not depend on the fighter’s record. Mayweather arrived at the Saitama Super Arena, north of Tokyo, an hour before the fight. He was shown on TV relaxing in a dressing room full of ready-made junk food, before walking onto his sidewalk. Mayweather predicted last week that the fight would be “easy payday, easy checking, easy opponent.” Mayweather’s retirement didn’t stop him from making millions of dollars from a series of high-profile shows. In his 2018 match with Nasukawa, a kickboxer less than half his age, Mayweather knocked him out three times in the first round in a two-minute fight, and hinted online that he made him $9 million. He scored an eight-point win in his other shows, against YouTube star Logan Paul in June 2021 and retired “Dangerous” teammate Don Moore in May of this year.
