Patrice Evra, a former Manchester United and France defender, will make his boxing debut against social media sensation Adam Saleh.
Evra made 379 appearances for Manchester United, as well as for Monaco, Juventus, Marseille, and West Ham. Before retiring in 2019, the left-back earned 81 caps for his country.
He has finally returned to the ring and will face Saleh on April 30 in London. The fight will take place on the undercard of Martyn Ford’s heavyweight bout with Iranian Hulk, real name Sajad Gharibi.
American Saleh has previously fought three times on prominent YouTube boxing shows, winning twice and drawing once. He also allegedly has a 30-fight amateur record prior to his social media days, albeit there is little evidence of this online.
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His most recent appearance was in last October’s Social Knockout 2 in Dubai, when he fought Anas ElShayib to earn his second victory on the YouTube boxing scene. He drew with Walid Sharks at their maiden event earlier this year and defeated journeyman English fighter Marcus Stephenson on the undercard of Fousey versus Slim Albaher in 2019.
He revealed the opponent on an Instagram Live webcast this evening, after warning followers that the fight was “about to get wild.” “This battle will be April 30 at The O2 arena in London therefore I’m going to need my full 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 very insane,” he stated in a post before the announcement.
Saleh was regarded as a possible opponent for KSI at one point, but the size disparity between the two made it too tough to fight, and the duo continue spar to this day. Instead, the Brit went on to battle Logan Paul in a white collar fight before turning professional for the rematch after their first fight was canceled.
The New York native, who is of Yemeni origin, is one of the Middle East’s top social media stars, attracting thousands of fans to his two recent fights in Dubai. He and Slim Albaher, one of the top YouTube boxers, are close friends who collaborate on a variety of initiatives.
It is unknown who Albaher will fight next, but he has hinted at a significant fight for his fourth outing in the ring after landing three knockouts in his first three fights.
A number of big-name personalities, including main eventers Ford and Sajad Gharibi, will make their boxing debuts on the Boxstar fight program on April 30.
