All it took Floyd Mayweather to fatten his bank account was less than two rounds.
Appearing in his second exhibition bout on Japanese soil, Mayweather took out Mizuru Asakura at the end of the second canto of their scheduled three-rounder at the Saitama Super Arena.
Reports have it that Mayweather, who retired from boxing in 2017 after beating mix-martial arts star Conor McGregor in Las Vegas, reportedly pocketed at least $20 million.
Even if it took him all three rounds to get the job done against Asakura, another MMA practitioner, he would have earned more than $6.5 million per round.
That’s pretty big for a fight that won’t even appear in his official boxing record.
After the fight, Mayweather, 45, insists he is done with boxing and will only devote his time doing exhibitions where the risk of losing is nil.
What made the event in Japan stand out was the presence of Manny Pacquiao, who sat at ringside to cheer for the 30-year-old sacrificial lamb from Aichi.
Immediately, the boxing world reacted to his arrival in Japan, fueling speculations that he and the unbeaten American are on a collision course.
Pacquiao announced his retirement from the fight game last year after losing to Cuban Yordenis Ugas in Las Vegas.
Turning 44 this December, Pacquiao has also decided to go into fighting exhibition matches.
In fact, he is slated to battle Korean YouTuber DK Yoo on 11 December in Seoul.
There is also talk that he might emerge in Riyadh in February and face former separate Jaber Zayani of France.
But his being in Japan and posing for pictures with Mayweather and even engaging in a press conference with the fighter dubbed TBE (The Best Ever) could not help but raise suspicions that something is happening.
Last time they fought, Mayweather handily beat Pacquiao, who claimed to have hurt his right shoulder in May 2015 in what came down as the biggest fight in history.
That bout generated over $600 million in revenue.
Now, as to whether something’s taking place soon following that meeting in Tokyo remains a mystery.
You see, though both are now retired, there’s no stopping them from un-retiring.
Besides, in the event they end up locking horns again, there would be plenty of interest in such a matchup.
That’s going to be another money grab — not just for Mayweather but for Pacquiao as well.
But, it won’t be a circus that Mayweather starred in a few days ago.
Exhibition or not, Pacquiao is expected to go for a resounding win.
Same is true with Mayweather.
