Does anyone have the stomach for yet another Mayweather comeback?
Word has emerged that Floyd Mayweather is set to make yet another comeback as he takes on Takashi Uchiyama in Japan. Mayweather, 43, has been out of the ring for two years since his exhibition bout in 2018 against Tenshin Nasukawa, where he reportedly pocketed £7 million for his win against the kickboxer.
As far as sporting farces go, that was right up there as Mayweather won the fight in 139 seconds after knocking his 20-year-old opponent to the ground three times in the first round which promoted Nasukawa’s corner to throw the towel in. Now, no boxing traditionalist would ever dream of describing that fight as enjoyable and the taste in everyone’s mouth would get a lot worse as Mayweather gloated on Instagram that he was paid $9million for the fight that was set for three rounds.
As hard as you try, you simply can’t muster any respect for his antics in Japan and now that he is set to head to the Far East once more to do it again, you are left wondering if you have the stomach for it all? His opponent this time around as mentioned is Takashi Uchiyama who retired in 2016 after suffering back-to-back defeats against Jezreel Corrales. However, there is reason to believe that this fight could well be more competitive given that Uchiyama is famed for his knockout power having claimed 20 KOs in 24 professional fights.
But then again, the fact that he’s been inactive for four years suggests that most avid boxing fans will end up giving this exhibition a wide berth. Another problem that Mayweather’s exhibition fight may encounter is that it is expected to take place at the same time as a mammoth clash in the heavyweight division as Dillian Whyte goes toe-to-toe with the deadly Alexander Povetkin. Despite what the latest boxing betting odds say with Whyte as the favorites at 2/7 to win, there is a growing feeling amongst the boxing fraternity that this could go down to the wire. Indeed, every day the noise around this fight grows with a genuine expectation that a thrilling upset could be on the cards.
So with all the hype surrounding this heavyweight clash of the titans, it’s hard to see anyone outside of Japan actually watching Mayweather’s return to the ring.
@danawhite and I working together again to bring the world another spectacular event in 2020. #boxing#UFC#mma#mayweatherpromotions pic.twitter.com/Z5LIoaD3fW
— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) November 23, 2019
Regrettably, the world has just about had enough of Floyd Mayweather’s comebacks with the consensus being that viewers aren’t able to receive much bang for their buck anymore, given the opponents that the American ends up choosing. That’s not to say that exhibition fights don’t work, look at how successful his winning bout with Conor McGregor was, but to stir the interest of the fighting world, we need a name that will get everyone’s tails up.
Until that happens, Mayweather may actually end up doing his brand more damage than anything else. Although, the 43-year-old won’t particularly mind what people think as he travels to far-flung places of the globe in his private jet, collecting eye-watering amounts of money, and defeating some of the more obscure names in world boxing.
