by By Allan Fox: The 46-year-old Floyd Mayweather Jr defeated his hand-picked opponent, former MMA fighter Aaron Chalmers, in an eight-round exhibition match on Saturday night in front of the nearly empty O2 Arena in London, England.
There was no winner at the end as the fight was an exhibition match and Floyd treated Chalmers leniently and did not attempt to punch him.
Mayweather vs Chalmers staggers as card is delayed with O2 Arena nearly EMPTY and thousands of tickets unsold
Some boxing fans were offered up to 20 percent off as promoters desperately tried to sell tickets
By @DailyMirror pic.twitter.com/sOtygaf5w3
— Last Round (@thelastround12) February 25, 2023
It felt like Mayweather could easily knock out Chalmer instantly if he wanted to, but instead he chose to fight at hand speed.
It’s a shame that Mayweather waited until he was old before fighting in the UK, because if he had fought there when he was younger, he probably would have sold out Wembley’s 90,000-capacity stadium.
O2 almost empty for Mayweather-Chalmers
Instead, Floyd would be lucky if there were 3,000 fans tonight at Wembley Arena with a capacity of 12,500. The top level of the arena was reportedly closed, and even with that still tons of empty seats at a lower level. Reportedly, ticket prices were lowered in a desperate attempt to fill the arena, but that didn’t help.
Even if Mayweather were handing out tickets to fans, he would probably still fight Chalmers in front of an empty arena because that’s not the kind of fight people would be willing to sacrifice on a Saturday night.
Floyd danced around playing for the audience and having fun with Chalmers, who looked shy, afraid to throw anything for fear of being countered. Mayweather has shown that he still has excellent skills, but the speed of his hand is not the same.
Between rounds, Mayweather sat on the top rope in his corner for some reason. It is strange that Floyd deliberately tried to be casual in his exhibition. Hence the dances, performances, mocking the opponent and not taking it seriously.
Was Mayweather embarrassed by how slow he looked and how his reflexes were greatly impaired?
Mayweather’s previous exhibition bouts
- Logan Paul
- Deja
- Tenshin Nasukawa
- Don Moore
- Mikuru Asakura
The handful of fans in attendance couldn’t be happy watching Mayweather play, considering they paid their hard-earned money to see him perform and not make a clown of themselves.
Even with the lighting directed only at the fans in the audience, you could still see all the empty seats. It was shocking how empty the place was, a clear sign that fans were not interested in Mayweather’s exhibition.
At this point, fans are not interested in watching Floyd beat non-boxers, and tonight’s empty arena was a sign that his show profits were dwindling.
It was a virtual ghost town as fans flocked to see former boxing star Mayweather in action in his sixth exhibition match since his retirement in 2017.
For a former star like Mayweather, who has been used to fighting in front of a crowd for most of his career, this must have been a reality check.
“I’d like to thank all the fans in the UK. The fans are amazing,” Mayweather later said. “This guy is hard as a rock; we had the opportunity to meet. I came to entertain people and I’m glad I came.”
“I have a lot of experience. He has to keep working hard and believe in himself. He has a hard chin – anything is possible.”
Mayweather later hinted that this could be his last exhibition match, but of course that’s hard to believe. If someone offers Mayweather a lot of money to fight in an exhibition match in a foreign country, he will probably take the opportunity, even though his net worth is estimated at around $100,000. $450 millionaccording to the star’s net worth.
