Patrice Evra has announced he will make his boxing debut against American YouTube star Adam Saleh on undercard of Martyn Ford’s heavyweight clash with the ‘Iranian Hulk’.
Former Manchester United and France defender Evra won numerous pieces of silverware during his football career, including five Premier League titles and the Champions League, but has never fought professionally.
He is now set to make his ring debut on the undercard of the fight between the self-styled ‘Iranian Hulk’, Sajad Gharibi, and Ford – dubbed ‘the scariest man on the planet’.
Ford, who stands at 6ft 8 inches tall, is a well-known British actor, bodybuilder and personal trainer with over three million followers on Instagram, while 390-pound weightlifter Gharibi has also amassed a huge fanbase on social media.
The event, which was originally scheduled for April 2, will now take place at London’s O2 Arena on April 30.
Evra has previously trained in boxing and was seen hitting the pads in a video released shortly after his retirement from football in 2019.
He is now set to test his skills against Saleh, who has already fought three times on major YouTube boxing cards – winning twice and drawing once.
Evra confirmed the fight in an Instagram live video on Thursday night, promising fans the bout would be “wild”.
“This fight will be April 30 at The O2 Arena in London so I’m going to need my whole UK family to pull up and show their love, from not just London but all over the UK I need you guys because this is going to be really crazy,” added Evra, in a separate post on Instagram.
Saleh was once touted as a possible opponent for KSI but the weight difference between the pair proved to be too much for the fight to go ahead.
KSI would instead face Logan Paul in an amateur fight, which ended in a draw, before beating the American in a professional rematch.
Evra is not the only footballer fighting on next month’s card, with former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara set to face ‘weight loss specialist and life coach’ Kris Boyson.
Meanwhile, former Love Island contestants Theo Campbell, Jack Fincham and AJ Bunker are also set to feature.
