Soccer legend Ronaldo meets rising boxing star Garcia in Saudi Arabia, adding star power to the heavyweight championship event
Before the highly anticipated fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury, there was a touching moment between two athletes from different sports. Cristiano Ronaldo, one of soccer’s greatest players to ever touch a ball, and Ryan Garcia, a rising star in boxing who’s been active recently in social networks.
Ronaldo greeted Garcia warmly, asking if it was his first time in Saudi Arabia. In the video, Garcia appeared understandably nervous, meeting CR7, who is the highest-paid athlete of the year, the most followed person on Instagram, and a five-time UEFA Champions League winner.
On the Friday before the fight, Ryan Garcia posted a photo with Cristiano Ronaldo’s son, there a video started to circulate on social media showing Garcia’s amazing speed by shadowboxing, clearly making a good impression ahead of his meeting with the legendary soccer player.
The fight today between Usyk and Fury, at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will determine the undisputed heavyweight champion. Fury, the WBC (World Boxing Council) heavyweight champion, is known for his trilogy against Deontay Wilder and a recent victory over Francis Ngannou. He weighs in at 262 pounds, significantly more than Usyk’s 223 pounds. Usyk, the WBA, IBF (International Boxing Federation), and WBO (World Boxing Organization) heavyweight champion, remains undefeated with notable wins over Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.
The event’s undercard features notable fights, including Joe Cordina vs. Anthony Cacace for the IBF super-featherweight title and Jai Opetaia vs. Mairis Briedis for the IBF and Ring cruiserweight titles. In attendance were other stars like Neymar, Anthony Joshua, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Steven Gerrard.
