Floyd Mayweather was taken the distance by Aaron Chalmers after toying with his opponent for eight rounds.
Mayweather's latest leg of his lucrative exhibition tour saw him fight in the UK for the first time as he welcomed former Geordie Shore start Chalmers to the opposite corner. But although he dominated the younger man, Mayweather was unable to stop him as he had previous opponents.
Mayweather landed a left in the opening 30 seconds of the first round and followed it up with a right hand which momentarily stunned the social media star. Perhaps Chalmers' best chance was hearing the final bell given the sessions were only two minutes in length.
But he was unable to land a meaningful blow in the opening round as Mayweather popped out his formidable jab. Mayweather had also toyed with YouTube sensation Deji last year before eventually stopping the younger brother of KSI.
He looked in a similar mood against Chalmers who again came under pressure in the second round. The Geordie had a significant height and weight advantage but they counted for nothing against the former five-weight world champion.
Chalmers attempted to land a jab of his own in the opening stages of the third round but Mayweather responded with a one-two to remind his opponent of the gulf in class. The visiting star took the opportunity to dance in his corner at the halfway point of the fight as Chalmers attempted to goad his illustrious rival.
Chalmers was not afraid to come forward but his style played into Mayweather's counter-punching attack which left the reality star flummoxed. He did make it to the fifth round, however, as he at least retained hope of going the distance.
But an uppercut from Mayweather threatened to end those hopes at the start of the next session. The 46-year-old followed that shot with a left hook which gave Chalmers pause for thought - though the Newcastle fan was able to laugh it off.
Mayweather then asked the cameraman if he had seen his shot before performing a twirl at the ropes - and a dance with a ring girl before the start of the sixth round. Mayweather then began to chat to Chalmers' corner as he warmed into his role as the entertainer.
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There was some confusion over whether the fight was scheduled for six or eight rounds but the bout carried on into the seventh stanza. And Mayweather turned the screw over the penultimate two-minute session as he landed a string of right hands.
Chalmers was still on the front foot in the final round as he looked to spring a stunning upset but Mayweather shrugged off his rival's attacks and responded with several reminders of his enduring class. But Chalmers held on to hear the final bell - but no result was announced given the nature of the bout.
“He caught us clean on the chin in the second round and it did wake me up a lot, but he’s just unbelievable. That’s one to tell the grandkids," Chalmers said. “We got as many sparring partners in but you can’t get anyone in to do what Floyd does. The win for me was to get to the eighth round and that’s what I did. Thanks for Floyd and his team I’m now in the mix for Jake Paul, KSI and hopefully bigger names.”
Mayweather, meanwhile, paid tribute to his opponent, adding: “This guy is tough as nails, I came over to the UK to entertain the people. We had fun for eight rounds and I’m glad that I came. What he has to do is work hard and believe in his skills, because he’s got a good chin and he’s a tough competitor.
"I want to thank all the fans in the UK, it’s unbelievable. It’s up to the fans, if the fans want me to come back then I will come back."
