Read the full details of what happened at the boxing exhibition with Floyd Mayweather on Saturday 21st of May as millions in the UAE watched Mayweather use his undefeated skills and taunting tactics in his fight against professional fighter, Don Moore. The lead-up to the boxing exhibition began with the fighters coming together for the weigh-in, in the ITP Media Group office in Dubai, after the announcement of ITP Live, the official media sponsor for the greatest boxing exhibition that took place in Abu Dhabi.
The Weigh-In
The official weigh-in brought together undefeated world champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather, UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson “Spider” Silva, professional boxer Badou Jack “The Ripper,” Don “The Champ” Moore, “Egyptian Hurricane” Hany Atiyo, Delfine Persoon, Bruno Machado, and Elhem Mekhaled. During the speeches from each fighter, Mayweather had said “it’s been a little roller-coaster ride for all the fighters. I want to commend all the fighters for just being patient. These types of things happen in life when you go through ups and go through downs, but we stand strong and we stand together and we made it happen. We’re going to make it happen tomorrow and I just want to say thank you to everyone that’s here, thank you to everyone in the whole UAE just for having patience. All these fighters up here, incredible, I commend you guys and all the sponsors.” He continued to sum up his speech by saying “let’s have fun, let’s be positive, and let’s make the best of the situation. Tomorrow, let’s entertain the people and give the people around the world and the UAE what they want to see and that’s good fights, that’s great fights- keep up the great work.”
His humble speech acknowledged the delay of the event on top of the Burj Al Arab helipad, due to the passing of the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed, and the truthful part of wanting to entertain the crowd was reflected in his performance inside the ring.
Badou Jack VS Hany Atiyo
Etihad Arena hosted the event in Abu Dhabi and saw professional boxer Badou Jack “The Ripper” first on stage with the “Egyptian Hurricane” Hany Atiyo. In an inclusive interview with ITP Live, Badou shared that he had been training for “two months” before the event, which showed inside the ring as Badou knocked out Hany within 40 seconds.
Anderson Silva VS Bruno Machado
With the crowd pumped after watching the first short-lived fight, everyone was eager to watch the fight between UFC fighter Anderson Silva, and the UAE Warriors lightweight champion Bruno Machado. Although Silva carried the fight with one knockdown in the fifth round, there was no declared winner as it was an exhibition fight. Both Silva and Machado kneeled down face-to-face as a sign of respect at the end of the fight which was well-received by the crowd.
Elhem Mekhaled VS Delfine Persoon
French boxer Elhem Mekhaled, also known as “The Diamond” and undisputed lightweight champion Delfine Persoon, showed the men how it was done, getting up to 10 rounds during their fight for WBC (World Boxing Champion). The fight had everyone at the edge of their seats as Mekhaled threw a punch toward Delfine, leaving a bloody cut to her right eye. Both fighters rejoiced after the match with it again being a tie, with the majority of punches from Delfine.
Floyd Mayweather VS Don Moore
With great anticipation inside the Arena, it was the fight of the night that everyone waited for which included the undefeated champion Floyd Mayweather, and his old sparring partner, Don Moore. Rapper Friyie and American footballer and rapper Antonio Brown walked Mayweather into the ring with an unbelievable performance. As everyone warmed up inside the Arena, the fight began and Mayweather enjoyed taunting his opponent throughout the fight. Mayweather was seen with his arms up, smiling and making noises throughout the match against Moore who brilliantly focused on the sport more than the entertainment factor. Mayweather was seen walking around the ring on each round as the crowd cheered at him, and after round 6, he took the ring girl’s placard, carrying it above his head, laughing. As the crowd was entertained, he then tried to dance with the ring girl who awkwardly stood smiling watching the boxer move around the floor to his fans. During the eight rounds, Mayweather continued to taunt Moore, with his facial expressions, and intimidating stares. During the fight, a member of the crowd shouted “knock him out Floyd” to which he laughed and answered “nope” as he continued to taunt Moore around the ring.
Don Moore, trained by Mayweather’s uncle, showed his skills against Mayweather proving his ability to go up against a world champion, and not get knocked out in the first round, making it to the end of the final bell. However, despite many smiles Mayweather had given inside the ring, Moore still managed to get in a few punches to Mayweather’s face, although Mayweather’s strength and speed carried him through to the end. Floyd was seen hugging Moore, and talking into his ear at the end of the fight as well as praising his opponent during his final speech inside the ring.
As we went backstage after the fight, the host of the ITP Live Show Aman Dhami asked Don Moore how he was feeling with his response was “I feel great, it was a good performance, it was a good fight. Floyd applied pressure and he capitalised on good shots and we put the combinations together. It was a blessing to fight in the UAE against one of the best in the world. Listen, we both undefeated and we both put on a hell of a show- I hope everybody loved it.”
Who was there?
In attendance were major celebrities and influencers including His Excellency Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry, Amir Khan, Umar Kamani, TY Dollar Sign, Antonio Brown (AB), Ahmed Al Nasheet, Noor Stars, Baneen Stars, Walid Sharks, Leama Khoul (who also performed her songs on stage), Layla Akil, Julius Dean, and many more of the elite on the guestlist.
Mayweather did announce inside the ring of organising the next fight in October and therefore the UAE will begin to prepare for another amazing fight night full of exhilarating entertainment.
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