Manny Pacquiao and Naomi Osaka meet during boxing clash in Saitama, discuss their love for each other's sport
Naomi Osaka attended Floyd Mayweather's exhibition boxing clash against Mikuru Asakura in Saitama on Sunday and got a chance to meet legendary Filipino fighter Manny Pacquiao.
The two spoke about their love for each other's sport in a couple of videos shared on Twitter.
Pacquiao can be heard saying he dreams of watching a match at Wimbledon. The 43-year-old also states that he watches the grasscourt Major on TV when it's 3 am in his native Philippines.
"It's my dream to watch Wimbledon. I always watch it on TV live but it's morning, like 3 o'clock in the morning," Pacquiao said.
At ringside watching the fight of Floyd Mayweather and Japanese MMA star Mikuru Asakura, @MannyPacquiao had a wonderful opportunity to talk to former world no 1 and 4-time grand slam champion @naomiosaka who was also at ringside https://t.co/Z76nOEdXG3
Osaka was asked if she watched any of Pacquiao's fights, and the former World No. 1 says:
"Yea, on TV."
The 24-year-old was also asked if she was a fan of boxing, to which she said:
"Yea, this is my second time watching."
@naomiosaka a boxing fan 🥊 https://t.co/pz51VSac1b
Naomi Osaka withdrew from the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo
Naomi Osaka's most recent participation came at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, where she was the defending champion. She reached the second round after Daria Saville was forced to retire due to a knee injury during their first-round clash.
However, Osaka herself withdrew from her round of 16 clash against Beatriz Haddad Maia due to illness.
Naomi Osaka has pulled out of WTA 500 Tokyo citing illness/abdominal pain.
Rough luck for Naomi, who had made the finals three times in the last four editions of this tournament.
Beatriz Haddad Maia gets a walkover into the QFs. https://t.co/nqNg3KHqyH
Before Tokyo, the 24-year-old suffered an opening-round exit at the US Open after losing 7-6(5), 6-3 to Danielle Collins.
Naomi Osaka has endured a difficult 2022 season, winning only 14 out of 23 matches so far. Her most notable performance came at the Miami Open, where she reached the final following wins over Astra Sharma, Angelique Kerber, Karolina Muchova, Alison Riske, Danielle Collins and Belinda Bencic. However, she lost to Iga Swiatek in the title clash.
Osaka is currently ranked 46th in the world and will look to rise up the rankings during the final couple of months of the season.
Former doubles World No. 1 Pam Shriver recently told Tennis Channel's 'Inside-in' podcast that she would like to see the Japanese play more matches before the end of the year.
"Listen, it was a tough draw to play (Danielle) Collins first round. Naomi didn't play badly and I was texting Stuart, her business partner like, 'you gotta play more!', and it's like, 'okay but she has to want to play more. I'd like to see her play a couple more tournaments before the end of the year. Naomi might learn a little bit," Shriver said.
"You get sparks of motivation by seeing glimpses of your best self."
@PHShriver explains on Inside-In why it's vital for @naomiosaka to keep playing tennis this fall, and why she can learn from a certain legend of the past.
Listen Now ->megaphone.link/ADV8284230050 https://t.co/ROzj4YheoY