An exhibition bout between Greek kickboxing great Michalis Zambidis and former boxing world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been postponed and rescheduled for September, organizers said, delaying one of the summer’s highest-profile combat sports events in Greece.
The fight was scheduled to take place on Saturday.
Mayweather’s first statements upon arriving at the Athens Eleftherios Venizelos Airport in the early morning hours of Wednesday:
The “Battle of the Legends” card had been due to take place at the Telekom Center within the Olympic complex in Athens (OAKA). Organizers said a new fixed date would be announced in the coming days, while tickets already sold will remain valid for the rescheduled event.
A representative of the promotion said the postponement was linked to procedural matters involving Mayweather. The US fighter, considered one of the greatest boxers of all time, appeared at a news conference in Athens and said he had legal issues in the United States to resolve, resulting in the event being pushed back by a few months.
Zambidis said he would have to adjust after an already demanding preparation camp, including weight-cutting, but added that the event should proceed in a way befitting its international ambitions. He said organizers were seeking to secure broadcast coverage in more than 190 countries and stressed that dozens of additional days of preparation now lay ahead.
The postponement comes after months of promotion around a crossover spectacle pairing one of Greece’s best-known kickboxers with one of boxing’s legends. Zambidis, known as “Iron Mike,” built an international reputation in K-1 and other kickboxing circuits and remains one of the country’s most recognizable combat sports figures.
Mayweather, the undefeated former five-division boxing champion whose official professional record stands at 50-0, has spent recent years staging exhibition fights after retiring from top-level competition. The 49-year-old American has frequently used such events to extend his commercial reach outside the traditional boxing circuit, including in the Middle East and Asia.
Greek media had billed the Athens bout as a major sports-entertainment event rather than a conventional competitive contest, with the fight positioned as the centerpiece of a broader card featuring Greek and foreign athletes.
