Floyd Mayweather arrives for his match with Don Moore during the Abu Dhabi Unity Boxing event at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on May 21, 2022. (Photo by Ryan LIM / AFP) (Photo by RYAN LIM/AFP via Getty Images)
Did anyone else realize that Floyd Mayweather vs. Aaron Chalmers was happening tonight?
Floyd Mayweather has historically been one of the biggest box office attractions in the history of professional boxing. At least nine pay-per-view main events he’s been in have seen at least 1 million pay-per-view buys — and he has been in the two biggest boxing pay-per-views of all time against Manny Pacquiao in 2015 and Conor McGregor in 2017.
Keep these facts in mind as you look at a photo from The O2 Arena in London 15 minutes before the start of the card that will be topped by Mayweather taking on retired MMA fighter and English television personality Aaron Chalmers.
Now, granted, Mayweather vs. Chalmers didn’t immediately start off the night’s action. That never really happens in combat sports; there is always an undercard or preliminary card that will precede the main action — and that portion of the card will usually have fewer fans in attendance.
But here’s the kicker: There’s a good chunk of people who had no idea that this fight was even happening tonight.
Arena empty minutes before Floyd Mayweather vs. Aaron Chalmers — where was the promotion for this?
Now, there are a couple of reasons for all this. Firstly, Chalmers isn’t exactly a kind of known figure compared to the likes of previous crossover and exhibition opponents Mayweather has faced — McGregor, Logan Paul, Deji Olatunji. This exhibition bout doesn’t have the kind of backing from another brand like Mayweather’s appearances with the MMA promotion RIZIN.
Chalmers, who has made appearances on English reality TV programs, is 5-2 as a pro MMA fighter with four appearances in Bellator.
That all being said, where also was the promotion for this fight?
It also doesn’t help that this event comes on a busy weekend for combat sports — Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury takes place tomorrow, Feb. 26, and tonight’s action also includes Bellator 291 and UFC Vegas 70.
We’ll see how big the crowd gets by the time Mayweather and Chalmers make their walks — and maybe the pay-per-view buyrate totals — but this is not a good look.
