Floyd Mayweather went the full eight rounds with Aaron Chalmers in his exhibition bout at the O2 Arena.
It was a strange night in London, with ticket sales poor and the event delayed in the misplaced hope that fans would soon arrive en masse. The chief support saw two US reality TV stars engage in a brawl that suggested neither had so much as looked at their boxing gloves in the build-up.
But Mayweather did what Mayweather does, cruising his way through to the eight rounds and putting on a clinic in front of a crowd seemingly largely consisting of his entourage.
His trademark head movement was on show and he landed a number of sharp left hooks, though the 50-0 legend never really showed any particular desire to push for a stoppage.
Chalmers increasingly let his hands go as the fight went on, with very little success, and he swiftly turned his attention to other lucrative fights on offer.
“He caught us clean in the second round on the chin and it did wake us up a lot,” Chalmers said after the fight. “The right hand was glued to my chin after that.
“He’s f***ing unbelievable. Unbelievable. That’s one to tell the grandkids. My win was to get to the eighth round, and that’s why I did.
“Thanks to Floyd and his team, hopefully I’m in the mix for Jake Paul and KSI. That loks good on the resume - eight rounds with Floyd.”
This was Mayweather’s first fight in the UK and he made sure to enjoy himself, dancing between rounds and engaging in conversation with Chalmers’ corner during them, all while ducking away from the shots coming his way and landing plenty of his own.
The 46-year-old claimed he could fight again in the UK as he paid tribute to the fans, but the sight of empty seats and a closed-off upper tier at the O2 Arena shows there is no appetite for Mayweather’s money-spinning tour to return.
“The United Kingdom is unbelievable, the fans are unbelievable,” Mayweather said. “The UK is becoming the Mecca of boxing.
“This guy is tough as nails. I came over to the UK to entertain the people, we had fun for eight rounds. I’m glad I came.”
On Chalmers’ future, he added: “He’s got a tough chin and he’s a tough competitor. All he’s got to do is continue to believe in his skills and work hard, anything is possible.”
