Floyd Mayweather is now 45 years old. She’ll probably be able to do it when she’s 75.
The undefeated Hall of Famer knocked out Mikuru Asakura in the second round of a scheduled three-round exhibition at the Rizin 38 card in Saitama, Japan.
The 30-year-old Japanese mixed martial artist went into the match and landed some eye-catching punches.
But no MMA fighter, even in his mid-40s, has the boxing skills to compete on a par with one of Sweet Science’s greatest practitioners.
And that’s by design. Mayweather has said he doesn’t want to trade punches with someone who is likely to hurt him.
The first round was fine as both fighters regularly stuck out their lead hands to find range and threw power shots here and there, mostly aimed at the body.
However, they picked up the pace in Round 2. Still fast and still clever, Mayweather started landing his right hand on Asakura’s head and added more body shots.
Asakura struggled to hit the great defensive fighter, but he landed a few blows and put Mayweather’s head back on. This was a rare sight. His problem was that he was getting the worst of the exchanges.
Finally, after numerous accurate shots to the head laid the groundwork, Mayweather landed another right, putting Asakura on his back and injuring him.
He fell to his knees and referee Kenny Bayless took a good look at him and decided he was not in a condition to continue.
Can this version of Mayweather beat the top welterweight contender? Probably not at this time. However, he intends to continue dominating the fighters, YouTubers, MMA fighters and inactive boxers who are entangled in exhibitions.
Indeed, MMA star Asakura didn’t stand a chance.
Mayweather made big bucks again and appeared to be enjoying himself, after which he thanked the Japanese crowd.
“I’m happy to give people some excitement tonight,” he said. “Thank you for inviting me. I’ll be back.”
Who is the problem?
Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Mayweather’s rival Manny Pacquiao was invited by the show’s host to speak in the ring before and after the main event.
Could they set up a Mayweather vs. Pacquiao exhibition? Maybe Pacquiao, 43, provided a clue.
“Hopefully,” he said, “this won’t be the last time you see me.”
Yes, there will almost certainly be more legendary boxers.