FLOYD MAYWEATHER fought for the first time on British soil – even if nobody saw it.
The ring icon, 46, had never boxed in the UK before Saturday night’s bout.
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He took on former reality TV star Aaron Chalmers, 35, in an exhibition bout at London’s O2 Arena.
Ring veteran Mayweather looked far too strong for a man in just his second ever boxing fight.
But the O2 Arena was sparsely attended… at best and it wasn’t immediately clear if there was even a winner.
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The entire top tier of the 20,000-seat arena was shut off.
And there were huge swathes of empty seats in the lower tier, as punters stayed away from a bout against former Geordie Shore star Chalmers, dubbed a “sham” by fight fans.
Mayweather did his best to appeal to his UK fans who might remember the PPV days and Ricky Hatton showdown.
He even wore the Union Jack on his shorts and had blue gloves with red trim to match.
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Floyd spent the large part of the opening rounds grinning at his opponent rather than boxing.
He picked his shots carefully and methodically, even if a little too tentative for the crowd’s liking.
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The 46-year-old eventually relaxed into his groove and even enjoyed a dance with a ring girl between rounds.
The end result of a wide points win for Mayweather never seemed in doubt.
But the referee raised both fighters’ arms at the end to signal a draw.
Mayweather has gotten used to travelling the world for exhibition fights since his legendary boxing career ended.
He likely isn’t done in the ring and could take on Irish MMA superstar Conor McGregor again.
But London might not be on the cards anytime soon given the fans’ no show.
Speaking in his post-fight press conference, Mayweather said: “We did this in one month – not even four weeks.
“I think the tickets should’ve went on sale a lot faster.
“My new team is still learning. I have got to take my hat off to them, it’s not their fault.
“It’s just when we fight in the US, as soon as we announce the fight, tickets are on sale.
“Here, we announced the fight and the tickets didn’t go on sale until a week or two weeks later.”
Mayweather added: “I would like to thank all the fans in the UK. The United Kingdom is unbelievable – the UK is becoming the Mecca of boxing.
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“Me and Aaron Chalmers had a chance to come together and we had fun for eight rounds.
“If the UK fans want me to come back, I’m coming back.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
