Mayweather and Silva were due to compete on a helipad this evening.
The Global Titans Fight Series event that was scheduled to take place today on the helipad of the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah hotel in Dubai has been cancelled. That event was due to feature both Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Anderson Silva in exhibition boxing matches.
According to TMZ the reason behind the cancellation is the unexpected death of United Arab Emirates president Shiekh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. After the leader’s death yesterday the country announced a three day shut down of all businesses.
“Out of deepest respect and due to these unforeseen circumstances of Force Majeure, the Global Titans Dubai event which was scheduled to take place on May 14th at the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah has been postponed until further notice, with a new date to be announced very soon,” read a release from Global Titans.
“We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and reassure fans that this spectacular event will be staged in future.”
At the event the 45-year-old Mayweather was expected to box, under exhibition rules, against his former sparring partner Don Moore. Moore is 42 with a pro record of 18-0-1 with his last pro bout coming in 2016.
Former UFC champion Silva, who turned 47 last month, was expected to box Bruno Machado, a 35-year-old MMA champion with the UAE Warriors promotion.
For Silva this would have been his third boxing match since leaving the UFC in 2020. In 2021 he defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by split decision. He followed that up with a KO against fellow former UFC champ Tito Ortiz.