It is a Floyd Mayweather fight week. A few years ago that would have absolutely dominated the mainstream news cycle but these days the multiple time boxing world champion is in the exhibition business.
So Mayweather’s upcoming bout with Asakura has not made as much of a splash internationally as his professional fights did. But the boxer is still big news in Japan and he has landed there ahead of Sunday’s Super Rizin:
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Quick work
Super Rizin is set for Sunday morning, a little earlier than normal in order to accommodate the US audience. How much international interest there will be in this exhibition bout remains to be seen but Mayweather is unlikely to go easy on the mixed martial artist.
There were questions about how seriously he would take his last exhibition bout in Japan. At Rizin 14 he took on the much smaller Tenshin Nasukawa and absolutely dismantled the kickboxer in a brutal mismatch.
Asakura is significantly bigger than Tenshin but both men had zero boxing appearance prior to their matches with Tenshin. So it would be no surprise if Mayweather made quick work of the Rizin featherweight.
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Grudge match
A member of Mayweather’s entourage is also in for a payday at Super Rizin. The boxer’s bodyguard is set to take on Kouzi in an openweight standing rules only fight.
Jizzy Mack does not appear to have any previous experience of combat sport, apart from serving as Mayweather’s bodyguard for nearly a decade. The Iranian will be taking on a seasoned kickboxer but could have a weight advantage in excess of 100lbs.
Jizzy came to prominence in Japan after repeatedly shoving Asakura away from Mayweather at the face offs. He then gave an interview to Abema TV in which he was very critical of Japanese fighters.
That looks set to be a grudge match and adding a bit more star power to the card is Kota Miura. The Japanese heartthrob, whose father was a legendary footballer, will be taking on Bunchuai Phonsungnoen in a special rules fight.
It looks set to be a day for unconventional matches, although Rizin 39 which takes place in the afternoon has plenty of well matched MMA bouts. It looks set to be a lucrative day for Mayweather who claims he was paid $1.5 million USD just to show up at the press conference.
Mayweather can expect to earn significantly more for the exhibition fight on Sunday. Rizin has once again invested a lot of money in the boxing veteran and will be hoping that the investment pays off in terms of pay per view sales.
