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Floyd Mayweather will fight Mikuru Asakura in September PhilBoxing.com Fri, 05 Aug 2022 While rumors continue to circulate regarding a big money rematch between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Conor McGregor, “Money” Mayweather has looked elsewhere to avoid any risk of becoming ring-rusty – and to land himself another multi-million dollar pay day. The 45-year-old multiple champions will take on Japanese MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura in Japan next month. The fight will take place at the Saitama Super Arena on 25 September. The format has yet to be confirmed, but it is likely to be over eight rounds, in line with Mayweather’s previous exhibition matches. Sounds familiar? If the venue rings a bell, that could be because it is the same arena where Mayweather defeated Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa on New Year’s Eve in 2018. Having turned up for the bout two hours late, Mayweather completed the task in less than three minutes, leaving his opponent in tears on the canvas. Mayweather pocketed $9 million in the process. Of course, Mayweather is four years older now, but it seems unlikely that Asakura will provide much stiffer opposition. The format is, of course, in Mayweather’s favor and Asakura’s record of 16-3-1 looks decidedly average against Mayweather’s 50-0. Calculating the odds It’s easy to poke fun at Mayweather’s apparent cynicism – after last year’s exhibition bout against Logan Paul, he said he would “probably not” do any more, and nobody really believed it. But he has repeatedly said he is in the business to entertain. He’s not going to agree to a fight that he’s not going to win these days, but that won’t stop the PPV fans from tuning in and placing their bets. Ironically, if Mayweather showed the same shrewd business sense in his own gambling activities, he would undoubtedly be among sport’s exclusive billionaires club. As it is, his gambling losses stand in the hundreds of millions. The exact figure is unknown, but he lost $50 million in 2017 alone. The numbers are inconceivable to those of us who spend hours researching what are the best online casinos so we can spend $20 or $50 on the slot games. Mayweather is less interested in these than in big money poker games on his private jet. He’s also been seen playing high stakes blackjack at some of the world’s top casinos. McGregor rematch “close” The Asakura fight will be box office, whatever the Twitter cynics might say, but it could prove to be a mere appetizer. When Floyd Mayweather took on Conor McGregor in 2017, the bout was more competitive than anyone expected. McGregor is 11 years younger than Mayweather, but appearances suggest he has suffered more of a decline despite being still close to his prime in terms of age. The fight will be worth around $130 million, and Mayweather has always said he would be open to a rematch. However, McGregor’s insistence that it must be a professional bout with personal records on the line, and not just another exhibition fight, could prove to be a sticking point. |
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