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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Donagh Corby

Patrice Evra to fight YouTube star Adam Saleh on Martyn Ford vs Iranian Hulk undercard

Former Manchester United and France defender Patrice Evra will make his boxing debut against social media star Adam Saleh.

Evra made 379 appearances for the Old Trafford club and also played for Monaco, Juventus, Marseille and West Ham. The left-back also won 81 caps for his country before retiring in 2019.

He has now turned his attention to the ring and will take on Saleh in London on April 30. The pair will clash on the undercard of Martyn Ford's heavyweight clash against Iranian Hulk - real name Sajad Gharibi.

American Saleh has fought three times on major YouTube boxing cards before, winning twice and drawing one during his time in the ring. He also reportedly boasts an amateur record from before his social media days that amounted to 30 fights, although there is little record of these online.

His last outing took place on last October's Social Knockout 2 in Dubai, where he defeated Anas ElShayib to pick up his second win on the YouTube boxing scene. He drew with Walid Sharks on their first event earlier in the year, and defeated journeyman English fighter Marcus Stephenson back in 2019 on the undercard of Fousey vs Slim Albaher.

He announced the opponent on an Instagram Live stream this evening, after telling fans that the fight was "about to be wild". He said in a post before the announcement: "This fight will be April 30 at The O2 arena in London so I'm going to need my whole UK family to pull up and show their love, from not just London but all over the UK I need you guys because this is going to be really crazy."

Saleh was at one time considered as a possible opponent for KSI, but the size difference between the pair ruled it too difficult a fight to make, and the pair still go back-and-forth to this day. Instead, the Brit went on to fight Logan Paul in a white collar bout, turning professional for the rematch after they drew their fight.

Are you excited to see Adam Saleh back in the ring? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

Patrice Evra will make his boxing debut in April (GeoProDubai/YouTube)

The New York native, who is of Yemeni descent, is one of the biggest social media stars in the Middle East, and attracted thousands of fans to his two recent fights in Dubai. He and Slim Albaher, considered to be one of the best YouTube boxers, are close friends and work closely together on a number of projects.

It remains to be seen who Albaher will fight next, but he has teased a big fight for his fourth appearance in the ring after landing three knockouts in his three bouts to date.

The April 30 Boxstar fight card will see a number of big name celebrities make their boxing debuts, including main eventers Ford and Sajad Gharibi .

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