Floyd Mayweather Jr. claimed fans will get to “see a glimpse of the old pretty boy” as he gears up for an exhibition bout against the Manny Pacquiao-trained Mikuru Asakura in Tokyo.
Mayweather Jr., who beat Pacquiao in 2016 in one of the highest-rating pay-per-view events in sporting history, will fight Asakura in his debut over three rounds at the Saitama Super Arena.
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And the Filipino great made an appearance at the press conference, telling Mayweather Jr. that Asakura “has something to prove” when they face off in the ring.
There are no weight restrictions for the fight, but Asakura usually tips the scales at 165 pounds which is closer to Mayweather Jr.’s weight than his last Japanese opponent in an exhibition.
The last time Mayweather Jr. fought an exhibition bout in Japan, he decimated kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa, a bantamweight who fights around 120 pounds, as he finished Nasukawa in the first round.
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However, Asakura vowed Mayweather Jr. will not have everything going his own way in the fight, even if the American superstar finds the target time and time again.
“I don’t care if my face gets punched out,” Asakura said.
“I think he underestimates me so please tell him it’s not going to be as easy as he thinks.”
HOW TO WATCH
You can watch Floyd Mayweather vs. Mikuru Asakura LIVE on Main Event available on Kayo & Foxtel, Sunday 25 September from 1pm AEST.
START TIME
The exhibition fight will take place on Sunday, with the Super RIZIN event expected to kick off around 1pm (AEST). Timings for the ring walk are unknown at this stage but as always will be dependant on how long the earlier fights go for.
FULL FIGHT CARD
Super RIZIN
Floyd Mayweather vs. Mikuru Asakura
Nadaka Yoshinari vs. Bandasak So Trakunpet; Kickboxing
RIZIN 38
Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Yuto Hokamura
Hiromasa Ogikubo vs. Soo Chul Kim
Kyohei Hagiwara vs. Chihiro Suzuki
Juri Ohara vs. Luiz Gustavo
Shoma Shibisai vs. Cally Gibrainn de Oliveira
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