Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather 2: Is Mikuru Asakura a tune-up fight for 'Money'?

Floyd Mayweather with Conor McGregor (L) and Floyd Mayweather with Mikuru Asakura (R) [ Image credits: Getty Images ]

Floyd Mayweather is set to fight in his second exhibition of 2022 against Mikuru Asakura this September — the exact date and time of the fight has not been announced. This will be Mayweather's second fight in Japan since retiring from boxing in 2017. 'Money' faced Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in Japan back in 2018 and completely dominated his opponent.

The legendary boxer's current opponent is also an MMA fighter, rather than a pure boxer, giving him a similar advantage inside the boxing ring to the ones he enjoyed when he fought Conor McGregor and Tenshin Nasukawa.

McGregor, on the other hand, is currently training for his comeback from injury. In his return to the octagon in July last year, the Irishman looked to exact revenge on Dustin Poirier.

However, just before the end of the first round, 'The Notorious' threw a kick and immediately fell to the ground because of a graphic compound fracture in his ankle. He has not fought since then and is now patiently plotting his return to the UFC. Ahead of his return, there have been a lot of rumors circulating about a potential rematch against Floyd Mayweather.

🇺🇸 Floyd Mayweather vs 🇮🇪 Conor McGregor II

Who says no? https://t.co/UL8tqrYIpC

As a result of these rumors, many fans believe that Mayweather's fight against Asakura is a warm-up fight for a rematch against McGregor.

Will Floyd Mayweather fight Conor McGregor again?

With two fights left on his UFC contract, McGregor is currently plotting a return to the UFC. However, there has been interest from both sides for a rematch between the pair. Reports first emerged when 'The Notorious' posted a photo of the fight on his Instagram and captioned it saying:

"I accept"

The post sent fans into a frenzy and the rumors multiplied — sources from The Sun and The Mirror stated that the fight was almost finalized, with only the rules needing to be decided. McGregor's team reportedly wants the fight to be a professional fight, meaning 'Money' will have his perfect record on the line. However, it is highly unlikely that the American will put his record on the line five years after retiring from the sport.

Dana White, the UFC president, shut down these rumors recently, saying that he was focusing on getting McGregor into the UFC ring next year and was not focused on a rematch with Mayweather.

Take a look at the screenshot of his post uploaded to Twitter by Al Dawson:

Since Fight Hype posted its sources tweet regarding a Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor 2 fight, the former 2-weight UFC champ posted "I accept" on Instagram alongside a photograph of him digging a right hand into the boxer's beltline. twitter.com/AlanDawsonSpor… https://t.co/3JbJnWj92A