Floyd Mayweather Jr. made easy work of Aaron Chalmers, and millions along the way, during his exhibition boxing match Saturday at The O2 Arena in London, but it came at the cost of his health. 

The 46-year-old Mayweather admitted that he hurt his left hand while he was easily dominating and toying with Chalmers over the course of eight, two-minute rounds.  

“We razzle, we dazzle. I hurt my hand actually. [It was] when I was breaking with the hook. A lot of people don’t know,” Mayweather after the fight. “When I was breaking with the hook – that’s boxing language – I hurt my left hand, bad. It could be broken. We’re not worried. I’m still able to use the left. You have to use the jab to set everything up. He was tough. He can take everything on the chin.”

The exhibition match marked Mayweather’s fourth since May and sixth overall since 2018. 

The Hall of Fame fighter has been immensely active during the exhibition phase of his career. 

There were plans in place for Mayweather to face off against former UFC champion Jose Aldo in a March exhibition, but with Mayweather’s injury, it would appear those plans would now be put on hold.

Despite making millions for his appearances, Mayweather must also consider if there is a public demand for exhibitions that he bills as “legalized bank robberies” against outmatched opponents. 

Saturday night’s showcase featured plenty of empty seats in the arena. 

Mayweather explained why that was the case. 

“We did this in one month – not even four weeks. I think the tickets should’ve gone on sale a lot faster,” said Mayweather. “My new team is still learning. I have got to take my hat off to them. It’s not their fault. It’s just when we fight in the US, as soon as we announce the fight, tickets are on sale. Here, we announced the fight and the tickets didn’t go on sale until a week or two later.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.