Mayweather set for return to action
Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather is set to return to Japan for another exhibition bout to take on MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura.
The event was announced at a press conference on Monday, and will take place in September under the Rizin banner where Asakura has spent the majority of his career.
Asakura has fought his past 12 professional bouts for Rizin while amassing a 16-3 record which contains eight knockouts.
Aged 29, he has not competed in 2022 thus far but made three outings in 2021 where he beat Kyohei Hagiwara and Yutaka Saito by unanimous decision and ended Satoshi Yamasu in the first round.
Mayweather retired from professional boxing with an unblemished 50-0 record in 2017 after a crossover bout with UFC icon Conor McGregor.
Floyd Mayweather will face RIZIN MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura in an exhibition event in September. #MayweatherAsakurapic.twitter.com/7NJEOJ6n1e
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) June 14, 2022
Since then, when not promoting next generation superstar boxers such as WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis via his Mayweather Promotions company, Mayweather has stayed busy by taking part in exhibition bouts.
The first of these came in Japan in 2018 when Mayweather knocked down kickboxing star Tenshin Nasukawa three times in the first round which prompted Nasukawa's corner to throw the towel in.
In summer last year, Mayweather fought his second exhibition bout against Logan Paul, who has accused Forbes' former highest paid athlete, said to have a net worth ranging between $450-560 million, of not paying him for his services.
Then this year, in May, Mayweather took on former sparring partner Don Moore in Dubai. But less than a month after that fight, the 45-year-old is already looking forward to his next appearance in the squared circle.
As a former undefeated, five-weight champion, Mayweather was inducted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame on Sunday which brought him to tears.
"I done a lot in my career, but this is by far the best," Mayweather claimed on-stage while giving a speech, which saw him thank his mother, dad, and sister for his success.
"I want to thank the International Boxing Hall of Fame for giving me this. This right here is going to my dad because he deserves it. Bernard Hopkins said it best, 'You've got to earn it,' and my dad earned this ring," Mayweather went on.
Also inducted to the Hall of Fame as part of its 2022 class were Roy Jones Jr., Miguel Cotto, James Toney plus female fighters Regina Halmich and Holly Holm.
