FLOYD MAYWEATHER has been called out by legendary kickboxer Liam Harrison after their fight was dramatically cancelled.
Last February Harrison – an eight-time world champion – was due to face Mayweather in an exhibition at London’s O2 Arena.
But a horror knee injury caused him to painfully pull out of the bout.
He told Sky Sports: “I got asked to fight Floyd Mayweather last year and I couldn’t believe what was happening.
“After one of my fights, I got a bad knee injury. My MCL was torn, my ACL was torn, my knee was just flopping around my leg!
“They asked me to do the fight and I thought it’s only boxing, I don’t have to throw any kicks. I thought I’ll take it, so I just said yeah.
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“For the first couple of days I was training, hitting pads, doing pad work, I thought I’m alright here, I’ll get through this.
“Then when I started sparring and I didn’t have control of where their movements were going, people started pushing me back, after training I was getting out, unwrapping my leg. It was all just swollen.
“It got to the point where I was training hard for a day then I couldn’t walk for three days just because of how badly damaged my leg was.”
Brit Harrison, 38, was even left considering postponing knee surgery to roll the dice and fight Mayweather, 46.
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He revealed: “I said to my surgeon this is the chance to fight Floyd Mayweather here, can I get through this camp do you reckon?
“The fight was scheduled for February 17, or something like that, and my surgery was due for January 30. I said: ‘Can I push it back and get through the fight?’
“He said: ‘Listen I’m not going to tell you what to do, but you might do some lasting damage here.
“‘You might end up walking with a limp, you’ll need a knee replacement by the time you’re 40.’ He said: ‘Is all that going to be worth it?'”
Mayweather officially retired in 2017 after beating UFC superstar Conor McGregor, 35, in ten rounds.
I had to pull out and I was absolutely devastated. But you never know, it might come back around.
Liam Harrison on Floyd Mayweather
But he has continued to box in exhibitions against names from the MMA, martial arts and social media world.
His last was against the grandson of notorious mob boss John Gotti, which ended in a disqualification with a rematch set for February.
After Harrison withdrew, ex-Geordie Shore star-turned boxer and MMA fighter Aaron Chalmers, 36, filled in on late notice.
But the kickboxer – signed to ONE Championship in Asia – holds out hope they he can revive the fight with boxing icon Mayweather.
He said: “I thought I’m probably not going to lay a glove on this guy even when I’m at full fitness. I probably won’t be able to hit him, let alone if I’m on one leg.
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“I thought: ‘Is it going to be worth just getting in there and humiliating myself where I can’t move properly?’
“I had to pull out and I was absolutely devastated. But you never know, it might come back around.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
