On the evening of February 25, London’s O2 Arena will host a boxing evening, in the main event of which the legendary Floyd Mayweather Jr. will fight against Aaron Chalmers. The fight will have exhibition status – eight rounds of three minutes each. The favorite is obvious, but Chalmers said that he was not afraid of the famous boxer and was ready to inflict his first defeat. The tournament will begin at approximately 22:00 Moscow time. In Russia, it will be possible to watch the fight on the REN TV channel, the broadcast starts at 0:00 Moscow time.
On a short
Floyd, 45, will fight for the first time in the UK, and Chalmers will be the sixth opponent of the former undisputed world champion after his retirement. Prior to that, Mayweather knocked out kickboxer Tenshin Natsukawa in the first round, tied with blogger Logan Paul and boxer Don Moore, and also beat MMA representative Mikuru Asakura and blogger Oladeji Olatunji.
Chalmers is also seriously inferior to Floyd in level. The Englishman, nicknamed the Joker, fought in mixed martial arts, where he won five victories and lost twice. At the same time, he took all the victories ahead of schedule. But Chalmers hasn’t competed in MMA for three years. In June 2022, he made his professional boxing debut and defeated Nicaraguan boxer Alexander Zeledon, who has a terrifying record of 6-42-4.
Aaron Chalmers during training
Photo: Getty Images/James Chance
Initially, Floyd’s opponent was supposed to be the English fighter Liam Harrison, who competes in the ONE promotion according to Muay Thai rules. But in the last fight, Harrison lost and could not win the title in the category up to 61 kg, and withdrew from the fight against Floyd due to injury.
Chalmers also had a fight canceled – before taking on Mayweather, Aaron was supposed to gain some more boxing experience by fighting Ryan Broten at the end of 2022. The bout was cancelled, likely because Chalmers received an offer to fight the legend.
Warm-up before Aldo
Mayweather’s last professional fight was on August 26, 2017 against Conor McGregor. Then the UFC double champion lost by technical knockout in the 10th round.
The 35-year-old Chalmers managed to hold four fights in Bellator during his MMA career, where he went to zero: he won twice and lost the same number. Aaron started his career in mixed martial arts just three months before Floyd’s fight with Conor. He started with four consecutive first-round finishes, both knocking out opponents and defeating them with tricks. But then things did not go so smoothly: at the Bellator tournament in Newcastle, Chalmers lost by heel twist.
Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor. August 26, 2017
Photo: Getty Images/Christian Petersen
Before the fight, Floyd respectfully treated Chalmers, who came out on short notice.
– Initially I was supposed to face another opponent, but injuries happen, and I’m glad that Aaron Chalmers agreed that we give the fans what they want, – the Mirror quotes the boxer, – The fans in the UK have always treated me well and supported me throughout my career, so an event like this has been waiting for me for a long time. I’m excited to make the O2 Arena in London even more historic.
And Chalmers gave some trash talk to Mayweather.
“I do everything for the press, I do everything for the media, I do all the challenge videos while Floyd goes around buying pink fucking Birkin bags,” Chalmers retorted. “He walks with 30 guards, so I will give this guy the first defeat.
Aaron Chalmers during his fight with Austin Clem at the Bellator tournament in Dublin. February 22, 2020
Photo: Getty Images/David Fitzgerald
Clearly, Floyd is a giant favorite with the bookmakers. Analysts rated his victory at a factor of 1.05. But the bet on a successful outcome of the battle for Chalmers goes for 9.0 – only it is doubtful that the money will not be wasted.
And here is what the full card of a boxing evening in the capital of Great Britain looks like.
Floyd Mayweather – Aaron Chalmers; Natalie Dunn – Tommy Lee; Ulysses Diaz – Halas Karim; John Ingram – Mix Castelo; Antonio Cepeda – Christopher Lovejoy; Kevin Johnson – Mike Hales; Carla McKenzie – Rose-Anna Cox; Sammy-Jo Luxton – Haley Barraclough.
The next opponent for the ex-world champion in five weight categories could be former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo (31-8). This was announced by the Brazilian himself. “His side has already agreed, and so has my side,” Aldo told MMA Fighting. We are now waiting for [промоутеры] make a deal. Mayweather may treat me like an exhibition fight, but I will give my best.”
