Hall of Famer and former 5-division world champ, Floyd Mayweather, will continue on with his post-retirement exhibition tour, this time facing UK reality show personality, retired MMA figher, and 1-0 boxing pro, Aaron Chalmers.
The 45-year-old Mayweather, who will turn 46 the day before the scheduled event at London’s O2 Arena, has already fought five big-money exhibition bouts since his official retirement back in August of 2017. In his post-pro exhibition career, the boxing cash cow has faced kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa, boxer and former sparring partner Don Moore, YouTuber Logan Paul, MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura and, in his most recent contest, Youtuber Deji Olatunji this past November.
Mayweather had originally been slated to face Muay Thai fighter Liam Harrison, but that bout was quickly put away due to a Harrison knee injury. Chalmers was then recruited to play the B-side in “Money” Mayweather’s UK fighting debut.
Chalmers was a star of the UK’s “Geordie Shore” and “Ex on the Beach” reality TV series. He’d later go pro as an MMA fighter in 2017, competing in the now-defunct BAMMA MMA promotion and then signing a contract with the Bellator Mixed Martial Arts organization. After retiring from MMA (following a decision loss to Austin Clem at Bellator 240) with an overall 5-2 record in 2020, he made his professional boxing debut in June of 2022. The 35-year-old Newcastle native, who uses the ring nickname “The Joker,” would beat the 6-28-3 Alexander Zeledon via four-round unanimous decision.
His status as a mixed martial artist and novice boxer, along with his name recognition as a reality television show celebrity in the UK was enough to land him this lucrative opponent slot against this generation’s biggest boxing star.
“I was originally supposed to face a different opponent, but injuries happen and I’m glad that Aaron Chalmers could step up so that we could give the fans what they want,” Mayweather said via social media.
“The fans in the UK have always been great to me and supported me throughout my career, so an event like this has been a long time coming. I’m excited to add more history to the O2 Arena in London.”
Chalmers sees the opportunity presenting itself in this Mayweather exhibition and is preparing himself seriously for the task.
“I’ve been training with Adam Booth in the boxing gym, and I’m eager to make a name for myself in the boxing world,” the reality stay-turned fighter said. “I jumped on this opportunity immediately. It’s an honor to share the ring with one of the greatest fighters of all time, and I’m definitely going to take advantage of it.”
Mayweather, in his last outing, looked playful and uncharacteristically aggressive in toying with the YouTuber Deji before stopping him in the sixth and final round of their contest at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, UAE.
The former pound-for-pound top dog has spoken fairly frequently about his exhibition career, once describing it as something akin to legal bank robbery. Ultimately, though, he insists that his lucrative exhibition run is merely a bankable labor of love in his retirement years.
“My philosophy has been, ‘Never stop gettin’ it,’ Mayweather said in a sit-down symposium recorded for the Earn Your Leisure YouTube channel. “You look at Bill Gates, you look at Warren Buffett. You look at these guys. They can be in their 70s, 80s, you can look at the Waltons family. They can continue to make money when they’re 80, 90 and we have nothing to say. When I go out and do exhibitions or I do speaking engagements or I make an appearance, then it’s like, ‘Oh, Floyd Mayweather is hurting for money.’ No, it’s just that retirement, for each and every one of us, is different. My retirement is to do what I want to do, as long as I’m happy.”
