Feb 25, 2023
Source: Boxing Scene
Photo Source: Floyd Mayweather Jr. Toys With Aaron Chalmers For 8 Rounds In London Exhibition: Boxing Scene
Floyd Mayweather Jr. kayoed the candles for his 46th birthday on Friday and made his long-awaited boxing debut in the United Kingdom on Saturday by blowing out another outmatched opponent.
The icing on the cake at The O2 Arena in London was novice combat sports pro and “Geordie Shore” reality TV star Aaron “The Joker” Chalmers.
Mayweather made the fight a laughing matter by masterfully outboxing Chalmers for eight rounds and barely broke a sweat while doing so.
He weighed 155 pounds and still appeared sharp by showing off solid timing, balance, and footwork. But he never really dialed up the action to maul Chalmers for a potential stoppage much like he’d done in previous exhibitions.
An official winner was not announced, but it was clearly evident that Mayweather would have won in a shutout if the fight would have been scored.
The matchup was yet another legalized bank robbery for “Money” Mayweather, who’s been laughing straight to the bank in his retirement years with a series of lucrative exhibitions.
“Chalmers is tough as nails. We had a chance to get together and entertain the people. We had fun for eight rounds, and I'm glad that I came,” Mayweather said in the ring during his post-fight interview.
“I have a lot of experience. He has to continue to work hard and believe in his team, himself, and his skills because he has a tough chin and is a tough competitor. Anything is possible if he works hard.”
The 35-year-old, Newcastle-based Brit Chalmers brought a 5-2 MMA record and 1-0 boxing record into the ring but was reluctant to let his hands go, even though he was coming forward most of the fight.
Mayweather opened the two-minutes-per-round matchup with a looping left hook that snapped the head of Chalmers and pushed him back. He followed up moments later with a lead right hand and uppercut.
Midway through the second round, Mayweather picked up the pace a bit and connected with a flurry of precisely-timed right hands.
The third and fourth rounds featured Mayweather delivering a steady diet of jabs, and he closed the frame with a lethal right hand with his back on the ropes.
In the fifth round, Mayweather delivered a smashing left hook, arguably the most crushing blow of the fight. Chalmers responded with a wide grin, but not much else.
The confident Mayweather started trash-talking to Chalmers’ corner, and after the conclusion of the round, started dancing with the ring-card girl.
Mayweather said “hit me if you want to” in the middle of the sixth, drawing a smile from Chalmers and referee Robert Byrd.
In the seventh round, Chalmers had his best moment of the fight with a left-right combo that was mostly blocked by Mayweather’s gloves. Mayweather responded by delivering thudding body shots.
After sitting on the ropes of his corner in between rounds, Mayweather closed the fight by standing in the middle of the ring and firing off one well-timed shot after another.
“I would like to thank all of the fans in the UK,” said Mayweather. “The United Kingdom is unbelievable. The fans are unbelievable. The UK is becoming the Mecca of boxing. If the fans want me to come back to the UK, I'll come back.”
“He’s f------ unbelievable. It's one to tell the grandkids,” said Chalmers. “The main win for me was to get into the eighth round, and that's what I did. Eight rounds with Floyd looks great on the resume.”
Chalmers was chosen as Mayweather’s dance partner after previously announced opponent Liam Harrison, a Muay Thai fighter, was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury.
The exhibition event was produced by FrontRow Entertainment and headlined a pay-per-view card on the Zeus Network.
Mayweather has been mauling a cadre of foes ever since he started engaging in exhibitions around the world in 2018. His hit list includes Tenshin Nasukawa and Mikuru Asakura in Japan, Don Moore and Deji Olatunji in Dubai, and the most entertaining of them all, Logan Paul in Miami.
The Las Vegas-based, Grand Rapids-native Mayweather retired in 2017 with an unblemished record of 50-0 with 27 knockouts.
Along the way, he won 15 world titles across five divisions, beating some of the best fighters of his generation, including Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya, and Canelo Alvarez, among many other Hall of Famers.
Mayweather was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2021 and was named the 2010s “fighter of the decade” by the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Mayweather’s match against Chalmers was his fourth exhibition since May and sixth overall. As long as there is demand and the large checks keep depositing, the low-risk, high-reward exhibition phase of Mayweather’s career is here to stay.
Former UFC champion Jose Aldo said earlier this month that he and Mayweather are discussing a possible exhibition match slated for March.
“Doing these exhibitions keeps me motivated to stay in shape,” Mayweather said during the building of Saturday night’s event. “No one is perfect. There are only two things perfect – God and my boxing record.”
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