Aaron Chalmers is ready for his shot at the king.
The Bellator veteran and former reality TV star is the latest opponent to test himself against Floyd Mayweather Jr. as part of the retired boxer’s exhibition tour. Chalmers and Mayweather are set to meet in a 74-kilogram (roughly 163 pounds) pay-per-view boxing match on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London. It’s a massive opportunity for Chalmers, and while the event may technically be an exhibition, the 35-year-old is relishing the moment.
“I haven’t really got many nerves,” Chalmers said Wednesday on The MMA Hour. “Even seeing him today, there’s not many nerves. I’m just going to enjoy myself because this is a no-lose situation for me, in any way, shape, or form, so I’ve got nothing to lose.
“It’s one of these situations where, what’s the worst that can happen? What, he’s going to beat us up? I know I’m going to get punched in the face numerous times. I can handle that. I’ve been elbowed, kneed, and kicked in the face — it doesn’t bother us. So for me, it’s just about going in there and just being as quick and as sharp as I possibly can. You never know, he’s a bit older now — a jab may catch him and just give him a little bit of a shock. That one punch will go all over the world, you know what I mean? So, that’s it, mate — it’s a no-lose situation and I’m just going to have fun the whole night with it.”
Fresh off his first face-to-face with the Hall of Famer, Chalmers admitted the lead-up to Saturday has been a surreal experience for him. Mayweather is one of the greatest boxers of all-time and retired in 2017 with a perfect 50-0 record, while Chalmers has only one boxing win to his name. He made his professional debut in June 2022 with a decision over Alexander Zeledon and has been unable to find his way back into the ring since.
That being said, the former Geordie Shore cast member has been mindful to not fall into the same traps as many of Mayweather’s recent opponents, including Deji Olatunji, who lost via sixth-round TKO in Mayweather’s most recent exhibition bout this past November.
“I feel like Deji was beaten before he got in there,” Chalmers said. “I feel like he was kind of turning into a [fanboy]. Listen, I’m a big fan of Floyd, but I feel like he was a fanboy. He was turning into a fanboy, as he’s in the ring with Floyd and I think he kind of — I don’t know Deji so I don’t want to be disrespectful, but I feel like he kind of s*** himself a little bit.”
“[Mayweather has] such good ring ownership — like he was saying, he can turn it on and turn it off when he wants,” Chalmers added. “When you’ve boxed for as long as he has, at the level he has, he’s right — he could probably turn it on or off anytime he wants, even if he hasn’t been in the gym for a couple of years, because he’s done it for so long. But listen, I’m treating this like he’s been training for us and I’m going out there to do the best I can, because I know a good performance against Floyd opens other doors for me.”
Chalmers said the matchup is the biggest payday of his career and comes at an important time for his family, with his youngest son dealing with serious health issues and set to undergo surgery next week. That’s why he’s so focused on making the best of his opportunity and using the Mayweather bout to open doors to future big fights elsewhere in both boxing and MMA, the latter which sees him sitting at 5-2 over seven pro appearances.
“Now I feel like I’ve got a bit of the fire back in the belly, and I’m sitting down with the PFL in March to hopefully talk some big crossovers,” Chalmers said. “As you know, Mr. Jake Paul has signed with PFL. It might be far away, but I’m going to try and speak about me and Jake Paul in a boxing fight, me and Jake Paul in an MMA fight. We’ll get a double crossover. That’s something that would really get us going and get us back in the gym in the MMA world. So yeah, there’s hopefully there’s stuff like that we can look forward to later in the year.”
“If it goes the distance, it’s 50-0-1. That’s what it is in my head,” Chalmers added with a laugh. “That’s what it is in my head — no matter what he says, it’s a draw.”