In recent weeks several of the best boxers in the world have invested in or become sponsored ambassadors of NFT and crypto related projects.
They’re not the first athletes to show an interest in non-fungible tokens or cryptocurrencies – tennis star Serena Williams famously bought a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT earlier in 2022 and became an ambassador of play to earn game Sorare that makes use of non-fungible tokens.
Many sport NFT drops have also taken place as sporting fans are often avid collectors of limited edition merchandise and memorabilia, so digital collectibles that might rise in value suit them well.
Boxers into NFTs
Below are four notable boxing names getting into NFTs in 2022 and representing them in the ring, including heavyweight champions and other title holders.
Florian Marku
On April 27th Florian Marku tweeted to his 14,000 followers that he would be ‘joining the #LuckyBlockArmy as an Official Brand Ambassador‘.
He tagged @luckyblockcoin which are both a crypto games platform and recently released an NFT collection of 10,000 NFTs, the Platinum Rollers Club.
He also posted to Instagram where he is more active with a large fan following of over 697,000. There he commented:
‘Lucky Block, like myself, is all about fighting to win and reaching their truest potential. Lucky Block also believes in working hard to make one’s ambitions come true and with their crypto games platform, everyone can be a winner by defying the odds. It’s an honor to be a part of the Lucky Block’s Team and together we can deliver some precise punches to knock the competitors out.’
The 29 year old professional boxer is also a former kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Marku has held the IBF international welterweight title since 2021.
Hailing from Albania, he made his debut with a first round TKO victory over Serbian Nikola Janicievic.
Florian Marku is undefeated in a dozen career boxing bouts with an 11-0-1 record in the ring.
Tyson Fury
British pro boxer Tyson Fury is a twice world heavyweight champion, famous for defeating Deontay Wilder in 2020. Alongside Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali he is one of only three boxers to hold The Ring magazine titles twice.
Fury has been a sponsored ambassador of meme coin Floki Inu and its growing Viking army.
According to the official Floki.com website the project plans to expand into NFTs and launch its own NFT marketplace or store this year.
Tyson Fury this week stated he may be going into retirement after his victory in the ring over Dillian Whyte at Wembley stadium, stating boxing is ‘not about the money’ for him. If true it would be the end of one of the best undefeated records in career boxing.
Zachary Ochoa
On April 21st Zachary Ochoa wore a t-shirt with the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT logo in the ring prior to a Showtime Boxing fight.
Zachary tweeted that it ‘was an honor to represent the @BoredApeYC live on @ShowtimeBoxing in front of the world! That BAYC tee was fire #zungry‘.
Bored Ape NFTs are the most successful NFT collection on the market, recently hitting another all time high floor price near 140 ETH, alongside other Yuga Labs NFTs such as MAYC and BAKC.
BAYC also recently acquired the CryptoPunks and Meebits collections from Larva Labs in the run-up to their launch of a metaverse project Otherside.
Born in Brooklyn NY, Zachary Ochoa also known by his ring name Zungry won his first sixteen professional bouts.
Dillian Whyte
Boxer Dillian Whyte also partnered with Lucky Block last week prior to Florian Marku joining the team.
The two boxers also join Love Island celebrity and fashion model Jamie Jewitt, representing Lucky Block NFTs which are listed on NFT Launchpad, and the LBLOCK token which went on a 65x bull run in Q1 2022.
Dillian Whyte put in a good six round showing against Tyson Fury before losing in a TKO decision by the referee. Whyte did briefly get back to his feet before the countdown ended however then stumbled onto the ropes and the judges called a stop to the contest.
Learn more about Lucky Block NFTs and their passive income rewards structure.
Floyd Mayweather
Former boxer Floyd Mayweather retired with an undefeated record and won fifteen world championships in different weight classes from super featherweight to light middleweight.
When its comes to NFTs, he has a bad reputation for rug pulls and scams – he is alleged to have abandoned two NFT projects causing investors to lose funds. Those were Bored Bunny NFTs and the Floyds World NFT collection.
Floyd was fined by the SEC over crypto projects and ICOs he promoted, along with DJ Khaled. He posted to his Instagram ‘you can call me Floyd crypto Mayweather’ and recommended the infamous Centra Tech ICO. He failed to disclose he was paid $200,000 to do so. Centra Tech rugpulled investors – one of the founders was sentenced to 8 years in prison for securities fraud.
In April 2022 Floyd promoted another upcoming NFT drop and metaverse project called Mayweverse with a 0.3 ETH mint price. Exercise caution and do your own research before investing in NFTs.
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