Floyd Mayweather has been to several exhibition bouts after retiring from the white-collar matches of boxing in 2017. But the Dubai showdown has been a roller coaster for the former five-weight division champ. In a last-minute turmoil, UFC legend Anderson Silva replaced Mayweather’s opponent.

Talking to media personnel ahead of the mega contest, Silva conveyed a heartfelt message to Mayweather.

The 47-year-old said, “I’m so happy to be here with this amazing champions here, and thank you Abu Dhabi thank you Dubai for giving support for us and thank you, Mayweather, to give him the opportunity to fight in the same card with you and every single person here thank you so much guys thank you.”

Notably, this pretty hyped event has undergone several changes since it came in news. The undefeated champ began creating a buzz for the mega showdown a few months earlier. Since then, several names were speculated for the potential opponent.

Read more-WATCH: Floyd Mayweather Throws Ridiculous No-Look Combinations Before His Exhibition Fight Against Don Moore

Now, finally, ‘The Pretty Boy‘ of boxing is going to lock horns with the former UFC Middleweight champion, Anderson Silva.

How did Silva become the opponent of Floyd Mayweather?

The former pound-for-pound Floyd Mayweather was most likely to clash with former sparring partner Don Moore. This fight was all set to take place on May 14 in Dubai, on the helipad of the Burj Al Arab Hotel. The 8-round exhibition contest was part of ‘The Global Titans Fight Series’. Everything was going on according to plans. Mayweather was promoting the event.

Unfortunately, the fight got canceled just before the scheduled date because of the sudden demise of the UAE President, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed. Consequently, the country faced the cancellation of all the events for three days and a mourning period of 40 days.

Such a huge tragedy has a big impact on Mayweather’s event leading to the postponement of the much-awaited fight. Interestingly, at the last minute, organizers came up with a new plan.

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They scheduled the fight for this weekend with a new arena and a new opponent. As of now, the champ is all set to deliver his first bout in the middle east.

What do you think of Silva’s message to Mayweather? Do share your thoughts in the comments below.