14 DAY TRIAL // On March 15, 2014, rapper DMX was supposed to get into the boxing ring with George Zimmerman, the former community guard who was controversially acquitted of the 2012 murder of Trayvon Martin. The match had been Zimmerman’s idea, but it has now been canceled because the promoter chickened out.
Zimmerman had announced plans to donate the proceeds from the celebrity match to charity, with the promoter picking DMX out of 15,000 applicants as his opponent.
Before stalling to get assurances that he’d make a lot of money off this, the rapper had even boasted that he would win the fight and urinate on Zimmerman’s face at the end.
On Twitter, promoter Damon Feldman announces that the game has been canceled and explains that the decision comes after more consideration towards Trayvon’s family and towards anyone who took offense with the fact that he’d help Zimmerman make money.
Even though acquitted, many still consider him guilty of murder.
“I'm sorry for anyone I hurt with this, but this was a very big opportunity. More to life then [sic] money. It was worth a lot of money to me, but people's feelings meant more to me. I walked away from a million dollar payday with this fight but to be honest, I'd rather be happy and make people happy. Thank you,” Feldman writes.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, the promoter further explains his decision, saying, “Zimmerman was the wrong person to have in this,” and confirming that he finally gave in to public pressure.
Sometimes, there is such a thing as bad publicity, and it seems that Feldman got to learn that firsthand.
The magazine also reached out to DMX’s camp, with his publicist saying that, despite the statements the rapper had made publicly just days ago, he had never really agreed to do the fight. “We thank you for all of the support from DMX's fans. This situation will not affect any of DMX's upcoming concerts in America or around the world,” the publicist adds.