This is just a silly Summer story. With so much seriousness in the world right now, it's a lark. Bring on the muscle-bound gladiators!
SPORTS | JUNE 30, 2023 11:03 AM
Italian Government Proposes Rome’s Colosseum for Zuckerberg-Musk Bout
Will the world’s richest person and the world’s richest millennial be gladiators for a day?
BY EVAN BLEIER @ITISHOWITIS
Once the home of bouts between muscle-bound gladiators who fought with swords and spears, the Roman Colosseum may soon host a clash between two tech-industry titans who may have difficulty busting a grape in a food fight. On behalf of the Italian government, which has introduced curious new dress code rules for tourists, Italy’s minister of culture has contacted Meta head Mark Zuckerberg about the possibility of staging his rumored cage-match fight against Twitter owner Elon Musk in Rome at the Colosseum, according to TMZ.
Per the outlet, Zuck’s team has passed along the Colosseum offer to UFC president Dana White, who previously said the world’s richest person and the world’s richest millennial are “dead serious” about getting into the Octagon and duking it out in Las Vegas. TMZ sources also said White has been negotiating details of the fracas with both fighters “multiple times each day for more than a week.”
The billionaire bout seems like it might actually happen
“They both want to do it,” White said last week. “This would be the biggest fight ever in the history of the world. Bigger than anything that’s ever been done. It would break all pay-per-view records. These guys would raise hundreds of millions of dollars for charity. You don’t have to be a fighting fan to be interested in this fight. Everybody would want to see it.”
Changing the venue from Las Vegas to Rome’s Colosseum may actually make sense because there could be some difficulty in getting the Nevada Athletic Commission to sign off on the fight due to the disparity in weight classes between Zuckerberg and Musk. Weighing at around 145 pounds, the Facebook founder qualifies as a lightweight per MMA rules, whereas his Tesla-owning rival checks in as a heavyweight at 230 pounds. Being an exhibition fight, ideally for charity, the NAC may approve the fight, but moving it to Italy would eliminate the issue.
Will it actually happen? Musk is saying there’s a chance…
Musk may want to step into the cage with Zuckerberg, but his father Errol thinks it is a bad idea. “The thing is if this crazy fight goes ahead, if Elon beats this guy, Elon will be called a bully, being so much heavier and taller,” the elder Musk told The Sun. “While if he loses, the humiliation would be total. Elon loses if he wins and loses if he loses. Wins, he’s a bully. Loses, he’s a loser.” He may have a point about his son, but seeing a pair of billionaires beat each other up would be a win-win for everyone else. Props to Italy for attempting to make it happen.
https://www.insidehook.com/daily_brief/ ... -musk-bout