THE bad blood between Floyd Mayweather and Mikuru Asakura intensified after the boxing legend’s security got involved in a tense staredown.
The 45-year-old will take on the Japanese MMA fighter and popular YouTuber in his latest exhibition fight.
And he came face-to-face with his new foe, 30, on Tuesday in Hawaii at a press conference to promote their September 25 clash at Japan’s Saitama Super Arena.
During their staredown, both fighters got up close and personal, and Mayweather’s bodyguard shoved Asakura after the 16-3 Japanese star got too close to the former boxing champion.
The bouncer intervened and shoved his employer’s rival away, which clearly angered Asakura, before the American palmed his security aside in order to stare into his opponent’s eyes again.
Mayweather has fought in three exhibition fights since his 2017 retirement from the ring.
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They came against featherweight kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa, 23, YouTuber Logan Paul, 27, and ex-sparring partner Don Moore.
Now he will face the Japanese ace, who is clearly confident that he can pull off a shock later this month.
He said: “My name is Mikuru Asakura and I’ll be fighting Floyd Mayweather.
“I’m an MMA fighter but I’m going to use this opportunity and I’m going to use him to raise my name and value internationally. I’m going to win this fight.”
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Mayweather is enjoying entertaining people “from all walks of life” and has no concerns about tarnishing his reputation as a fighter with these money-spinning exhibitions.
The 50-0 icon said: “My legacy is already engraved in stone, like I said before. But it’s still great just to go around the world and entertain people from all walks of life.
“I’m pretty sure he’s gonna come out and give his best, like any and every guy, but I’ve seen every style, so, my job is just to go out there, be me, have fun and do what I do best.
“September we’re going to have fun and entertain people.
“I’m Floyd Mayweather to him. He’s just another opponent to me.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
