Floyd Mayweather Farce! The boxing legend announces his first-ever British fight will be in London next month… but his American opponent withdraws just SIX HOURS later!
- Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather will fight in the UK for the first time next month
- He was scheduled to take on kickboxing legend Liam Harrison in an exhibition match
- But Harrison pulled out just six hours after Mayweather confirmed the news
- The Leeds-born fighter announced an injury meant he was unable to fight
Floyd Mayweather is set to fight for the first time in the UK next month – but not against Liam Harrison as the kickboxing legend withdrew just six hours after Mayweather confirmed the fight.
The pair were due to meet in an exhibition match at the O2 Arena on February 25 after Mayweather shared the news on his Instagram.
He had said: “London February 25th, it’s official. My first exhibition match in the UK will be at the O2 Arena. Tickets go on sale next week. Stay tuned!!’
Floyd Mayweather will fight in the UK for the first time next month during his exhibition tour
However, Harrison then announced that he would be retiring from the fight just hours later due to injury in what will go down as one of the quickest fight withdrawals in history.
He said: “Many of you will have seen the announcement this morning about my fight against Floyd Mayweather.
“Devastatingly, my knee just won’t allow it. Discussions about the fight started a few days ago with the Mayweather team and I honestly thought I would be fine in a boxing match even if I had to have knee surgery.
But it will not go against scheduled opponent Liam Harrison after he withdrew just six hours after Mayweather confirmed the fight due to injury
Harrison announced that he was unable to fight in training due to a problem with his knee
“I improved my training as soon as the discussions started and had hard sparring and pads but almost immediately my knee was bloated and I can’t walk. Hitting pads is fine, but the movement and agility needed to save and especially fight just isn’t possible.
“My surgeon agrees this will not be possible and I am absolutely heartbroken. That fight and everything that would have come with it would have changed my life.”
Harrison also confirmed that no contract was broken by his withdrawal and welcomed Mayweather as a boxer.
Mayweather, 46, had confirmed the news with a poster of the fight just hours earlier
He added: “Furthermore, no contract has been obtained or signed for it. I am exclusively under contract with ONE and had asked their permission and unsubscribe. Nothing was confirmed without receipt of the contract and its examination and approval by ONE.
“Floyd is the greatest boxer of all time and I would have liked to have presented myself well. Not just for me, but for the entire Muaythai community…
“I’m seriously flattered to have even been approached for this fight and I really think I could have done well in it. But as things stand I have to stick with my surgery next week.
The legendary boxer now has to find a new opponent after Harrison’s injury retirement
Mayweather has competed in exhibition matches against the likes of Logan Paul for the past several years
“I really hope that when I’m recovered we can pull off this fight.”
Legendary boxer Mayweather, 46, hasn’t fought in a professional bout since 2017, but he has competed in several exhibition bouts against Logan Paul, Deji and Mikuru Asakura in recent years.
His last fight of his official boxing career was in 2017 when he defeated MMA star Conor McGregor and extended his fight record to 50-0 with 27 KOs.
He was best known during his career for his famous wins against fighters such as Ricky Hatton, Oscar de la Hoya and Manny Pacquiao, among others.
Mayweather never fought outside the United States during his professional boxing career
The American finished his professional boxing career with a record of 50-0, with 27 KOs
He has never fought outside the United States as a professional boxer but suggested he would fight in England for the first time when discussing his exhibition tour in early January.
He had said: “In February we look forward to coming here and putting on an exhibition for the fans in the UK because I never had the opportunity to come here and fight when I was actively boxing as a pro.
“Hopefully I’ll come by in February and do an exhibition if it’s possible.”
Harrison is a distinguished muay thai fighter who hails from Leeds and has a career record of 90 wins, 25 losses and two draws – including 50 wins by KO.
Following his retirement, Mayweather is hoping to find a replacement for his planned fight at O2 next month.