Floyd Mayweather returned to exhibition boxing last night, taking on famous content creator Deji in Dubai, stopping him in the sixth round after an easy fight for the 50-0 retired fighter.
In trademark Mayweather fashion, he was on the wind-up in the ring, not taking the fight too seriously, simply because he didn’t have to, it was a mismatch in terms of actual ability, so Money made sure he entertained throughout.
He took the ring girls’ card in between rounds, spoke to Deji’s corner, danced around the ring including doing 360s during the fight, it really was just a show from Mayweather, but I guess no one expected any different when he takes on YouTubers in exhibition fights. We get to see the entertainment side of Mayweather rather than his boxing clinic.
Deji lands blow on Floyd Mayweather
Even Deji probably knew the fight would be stopped at some point, but he had an aim to land a shot on his opponent, something he did brilliantly to be fair to him, with his right hand dealing damage to the former champion.
You could see after the fight, there was visible damage to the former professional, who had his eye bruised by the strike from Deji, that’s certainly one for him to tell the grandkids about in the future!
Maybe Mayweather’s showboating left him vulnerable, but take nothing away from Deji, he stepped in the ring with one of the greatest fighters of all time and didn’t shy away from the challenge.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 13: Floyd Mayweather Jr. (L) and Deji Olatunji pose during a news conference at the Mayweather Boxing Club on October 13, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayweather is scheduled to fight Olatunji in an exhibition match in Dubai on November 13, 2022. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
Floyd Mayweather appears to pull out of punches
As well as dancing around and taunting his opponent, Mayweather appeared to ensure that the bout lasted until the latter stages, subsequently making sure that those in attendance and those who bought the fight on pay-per-view.
Footage has emerged from the fight and slowed down, and it looks like it shows him pulling out of shots to make sure he didn’t do too much damage early on in the fight until he decided to end it, forcing the referee to step in and stop the fight.
Deji admitted he would have been happy to carry on the fight in his post-bout interview, but the referee did the right thing, stopping Mayweather from going through any more gears, putting the health of the YouTuber first, making sure no serious injuries occurred.