Editor’s note: This article was originally published on MMAJunkie. com.
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In this week’s sign of the apocalypse, Chuck Liddell is entering the boxing world … as a referee.
Liddell, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, has signed on to officiate the Celebrity Boxing promotion’s upcoming match between 41-year-old former NBA standout Lamar Odom and 33-year-old singer/rapper/actor Aaron Carter. The event takes place June 11 at Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J. It airs on pay-per-view.
If you need extra motivation when considering a potential purchase, the card also will feature 41-year-old music producer Cisco Rosado vs. 52-year-old rapper Peter Gunz. A referee for that match has not been announced.
Liddell, 51, came out of a retirement of more than eight years in 2018 to fight Tito Ortiz in a trilogy bout. After two wins over Ortiz while they were in the UFC, Liddell was stopped with a first-round knockout in their third fight. That gave him six losses in his final seven MMA bouts dating back to 2007, including six by knockout.
He won’t be fighting this time, but it’s not as if he’s uninterested these days. Earlier this week, Liddell said he could be “ready anytime” for a boxing match against Jake Paul. And while it’d be great to say that won’t ever happen, just take a look at the landscape these days. It’s more than possible.
When the bell clangs to start the match, there will be three men in the ring who are alums of “Dancing with the Stars,” which frankly might be a combat sports first.
Odom was a contestant on Season 28 in 2019 and was the third one eliminated with partner Peta Murgatroyd. Carter and Liddell were in the same Season 9 cast in 2009. Liddell and partner Anna Trebunskaya were the fifth team eliminated. Carter and partner Karina Smirnoff fell just short of the final and finished in fifth place.
So if the boxing thing goes awry next month for whatever reason and they have to settle things with a dance-off, the smart money appears to be on Carter.