Floyd Mayweather gave Manny Pacquiao a special mention when the five-weight world champion won at RIZIN 38.
The boxing legend was never going to have a problem against kickboxer Mikuru Asakura after admitting that he couldn’t even pronounce his opponent’s name beforehand.
Mayweather took control and didn’t really bother with too much defense as he moved closer to victory and a $20 million paycheck.
Floyd Mayweather defeats Asakura
The end came in the second round when Mayweather went down and stopped a stunned Asakura.
Mayweather then mentioned Pacquiao at ringside as rumors continue that the pair will fight again in 2023.
“I thank you all for your hospitality. And here we have another legend right here. Eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao. He is an amazing fighter,” said “Money”.
Earlier, Mayweather watched as his bodyguard Ray “Jizzy Mack” Sadeghi was rammed in the face.
Sadeghi agreed to fight on the card as only three fights had been signed with just over a week to go. An “open weight” category was then created to accommodate the much larger weightlifter.
Koji “Kouzi” Tanaka then stepped up to the plate after Sadeghi called the Japanese fighters “weak” at a news conference for Mayweather’s main event.
Pushing through Mayweather’s opponent, Mikuru Asakura, even though there was no threat in the heads-up, Sadeghi quickly added himself to the card.
Despite a 70-pound weight difference trimmed only slightly by Tanaka’s lightweight adding a few extra pounds, that’s where it all went wrong for Jizzy.
Tanaka caught him in the third round and stunned the much larger man. Sadeghi was unable to stay on his feet and the fight ended.
Kouzi vs. Jizzy Mack KO
Sadeghi hit the ground hard and was unable to recover from the knockout.
In the main event, promoter Mayweather earned his third victory in his fourth competition since retiring. The exhibition fight in Japan did not see the end of the second round.
After facing Conor McGregor, Mayweather fought Tenshin Nasukawa, Logan Paul, Don Moore and now Asakura.
Mayweather’s team managed to get their man a $20 million purse for the three-round fight.
Exhibition
Floyd returns again in November against social media star and non-boxer Deji in Dubai. It will be another exhibition fight outside of the United States.
The Super RIZIN pay-per-view event, headlined by Mayweather vs. Askakura, was held at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama.
Super RIZIN, presented by the Japanese MMA company RIZIN Fighting Federation, was distributed by Integrated Sports.
The action was broadcast live across North America on Pay Per View cable and satellite via iN Demand. Also, DIRECTV, DISH, Shaw PPV, Rogers, Bell TV and SaskTel.
Mayweather vs. Asakura is priced at $29.99.
Additionally, it was broadcast via digital PPV on FITE (all FITE’s mobile apps, OTT Streaming and Smart TV) and PPV.com.
Super RIZIN results:
Floyd “Money” Mayweather (50-0.27 box KO’s), USA KO2 over Mikuru Askakura (16-3-0 MMA), Toyohashi, Japan
Kouzi “Emperor” Tanaka (31-16-2, 10 KOs), Japan KO3 over Jizzy Mack (Ray Vinci Sadeghi), USA
Miura City (1-0-0), Japan W1 SUBMISSION over Bunchual Phonsungnoen (pro debut), Thailand
Nada Yoshinaro (41-6-1, 26 KOs), Japan KO1 over Bandasak So Trakunpet (pro debut), Thailand
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