By Allan Fox: Floyd Mayweather Jr. will fight his next exhibition match against an MMA fighter named Mikuru Asakura on September 24 in Japan. The 45-year-old Mayweather announced that his exhibition match will be live on FITETV against the 29-year-old Asakura, who lives in Tokyo, Japan.
Mayweather is coming back quickly after recently fighting one of his ex-sparring partners named Don Moore.
Boxing fans would like to see Floyd fight an exhibition match against the recently retired Manny Pacquiao, but he’s opted not to go in that direction for obvious reasons.
Pacquiao would likely make easy work of the 45-year-old Mayweather, who has lost a lot from his game since retiring from the sport in 2017.
It’s unclear how much longer Mayweather will continue to do exhibition matches, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s still doing them in his 50s & 60s, as long as his fans are willing to purchase them.
“I’m pretty sure in September, we’re going to give people what they want to see,” said Floyd Mayweather Jr. in announcing his next exhibition match against little-known Mikuru Asakura.
“People still want to see me compete, not at the highest level, but they still want to be entertained by Floyd Mayweather. They want to see a young guy across from me to see if he can say, ‘Mayweather doesn’t need to do any more exhibitions.’
“By me doing exhibitions, it’s keeping my body in shape. I’m able to work out, and it’s very important. Even with me doing these exhibitions, I’m still not taking any punishment.
“I did one in Japan before and had fun. We came back and done one with Logan Paul. I can’t even call that an exhibition. I came to entertain and he came to hold.
“It’s so crazy that Logan Paul wants to do an exhibition again. It’s the same guy that said he didn’t get paid. I’m happy to be going back to Japan. I’ve been to Japan so many times. It’s all about working smarter, not harder.
“I said I can drag it out like the Logan Paul fight if you want me to. I can click him out and take his winds early. I’m pretty sure he [Asakura] believes in his skills, but he’s got to realize that no fighter that he’s ever been in the ring with [octagon] is Floyd Mayweather.
“When you see all these other fighters, they’re just fighters. Remember, I’m Floyd Mayweather,” said Mayweather.
