Fans of boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr. will be disappointed to learn Saturday’s exhibition bout against Don Moore has been called off at the 11th hour. The pair were due to face off on the helipad of the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai.
However, the sudden death of 73-year-old Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, has called a halt to affairs. The country began a 40-day period of mourning on Friday, but all work in the public and private sectors has also been suspended for three days.
TalkSPORT’s Michael Benson confirmed Mayweather’s fight—his third exhibition since retiring in 2017—was a casualty due to current events. Reports have suggested the showdown could be rearranged to be held in a week’s time.
“Floyd Mayweather’s exhibition fight with Don Moore in Dubai is OFF,” wrote Benson. “It has been forced to cancel at the last minute due to the death of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which has prompted the country to announce a three-day suspension of work.”
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“It feels great to be in Dubai, I wanna say thank you to the whole UAE and everybody in Dubai and the fans,” he said ahead of the clash. “This is such a beautiful event full of beautiful people, it is going to be a superb event with a great turnout.
“Every fighter up here will put on a hell of a show. It is going to be competitive and it will be an exciting event, we want everybody cheering and everybody enjoying it as this is what this brutal sport is about. The title of the event, Showcase in the sky but also Global Titans, we are ‘Titans’ and we are going to entertain you guys and put on a great show come Saturday.”