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Evening Standard
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George Flood

Mayweather vs Asakura: Start time UK, undercard, ring walks, prediction and latest odds tonight

Floyd Mayweather battles Mikuru Asakura in his latest exhibition outing in Japan later tonight.

This will be boxing’s 15-time world champion’s fourth such outing since retiring again in the aftermath of his lucrative victory over UFC superstar Conor McGregor in 2017.

Mayweather dominated former sparring partner Don Moore in a rescheduled contest in Abu Dhabi in May, one year after being taken the distance by internet personality Logan Paul in another no-contest.

YouTuber and Rizin featherweight Asakura, a former two-division champion in the Fighting Network Rings promotion, is 16-3-1 as a mixed martial artist, but has his work cut out this weekend.

He will be only too aware of the outcome of Mayweather’s last trip to Japan in December 2018, when kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa hit the canvas three times before being stopped inside the first round.

And ‘Money’ could well be on similar form here as he looks to tee up a rematch with McGregor in Las Vegas for 2023, while he is also due to face KSI’s brother Deji in November.

Floyd Mayweather boxes Japanese MMA star Mikuru Asakura in a three-round exhibition (Getty Images)

Mayweather vs Asakura date, start time, venue and ring walks

Mayweather vs Asakura takes place on Saturday, September 24, 2022 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

The main card is due to begin at around 12pm local time, which is 4am BST in the UK.

Mayweather vs Asakura fight card/undercard in full

Rizin 38

Kyoji Horiguchi vs Yuto Hokamura

Seika Izawa vs Anastaysia Svetkivska

Ayaka Hamasaki vs Si Woo Park

Soo Chul Kim vs Hiromasa Ougikubo

Shoma Shibisai vs Callyu Gibrainn

Kyohei Hagiwara vs Chihiro Suzuki

Juri Ohara vs Luiz Gustavo

Super Rizin

Floyd Mayweather vs Mikuru Asakura

Kouzi vs Jizzy

Yoshinari Nadaka vs Bandasak So Trakunpet

Kota Miura vs Bunchuai Phonsungnoen

How to watch Mayweather vs Asakura

TV channel and live stream: Saturday’s event is being broadcast live on American digital video streaming service Fite TV, including in the United Kingdom.

The event will cost $19.99 (£17.73) to purchase.

Mayweather is set to earn north of $20million for a three-round outing in Saitama (AFP via Getty Images)

Mayweather vs Asakura rules

Saturday’s main event is an exhibition scheduled to last just three rounds. Stoppages are allowed but the bout will be ruled a no-contest if it lasts the distance.

Mayweather vs Asakura purse

Mayweather claims he will earn upwards of $15-20million for his latest outing - not bad for potentially nine minute’s work or less!

Mayweather vs Asakura fight prediction

Mayweather has seemed content to coast through many of these exhibitions, going the distance with Logan Paul and Don Moore to produce no-contests.

The veteran is seemingly happy to continue picking up those vast paycheques without taxing himself too much or risking getting particularly hurt, and at 45 who can blame him.

However, his last visit to Japan saw him decimate Tenshin Nasukawa, who was left in tears after being knocked down three times en route to an emphatic first-round stoppage.

If Floyd decides to turn on the style again, then a similar fate could await his compatriot. Otherwise expect another dominant outing that ends in a disappointing no-contest.

Mayweather vs Asakura betting odds

Per Oddschecker, Mayweather is -700 to win tonight, giving him a huge win probability of 87.5 per cent.

Asakura, meanwhile, is at +500, giving him just a 16.67 per cent chance of pulling off a major upset on home soil.

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