Today was all about Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk. The much-anticipated ultimate heavyweight bout had the eyes of all corners. Aside from ardent fans, a few big names from the sporting world came to grace the event with their presence, with soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo being one of them. He had a special meet-up with American boxer, Ryan Garcia, who flew to Saudi Arabia for the very first time. In fact, meeting CR7 forced the lightweight champion to fire a 4-word succinct response.
Clips and images instantly went viral after Garcia came to greet the Portuguese superstar near the ring. Ronaldo greeted the boxer with a handshake and quickly gave a heartwarming hug. Both had a few seconds of conversation until they posed again for a picture. Interestingly, Garcia shared this whole moment on his X account and wrote a caption saying, “A moment to remember.” It seems the 25-year-old was mesmerized to meet Ronaldo. But what exactly the two were conversing about?
Notably, after they exchanged pleasantries, Ronaldo asked Garcia if it was his first time in Saudi Arabia to witness a boxing match. The boxer affirmed and said he was looking forward to enjoying his visit. Both athletes were surrounded by the crowd who were in awe of the moment, recording videos and clicking pictures. While this was Garcia’s first experience in the Middle East, Ronaldo is a familiar face in such kinds of events.
The former Real Madrid player, who brought his eldest son Cristiano Jr. alongside him, has consistently shown vocal support for boxing, frequently attending matches held in Riyadh since his arrival in Saudi Arabia. However, he certainly wasn’t the only soccer player to grace the event with his presence.
Neymar Jr. joined Cristiano Ronaldo for the Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk
Neymar Jr. made a surprise solo visit to the Kingdom Arena. The Al Hilal superstar arrived in a dapper outfit, sporting an all-black T-shirt and jeans paired with a dark denim jacket, while driving a black Rolls Royce Cullinan. Before the fight, the Brazilian shared his predictions, backing Tyson Fury to win the bout. However, his prediction didn’t come true.
The 31-year-old’s forecast fell flat as it was the Ukrainian sensation Oleksandr Usyk who won the ultimate heavyweight championship. Interestingly, Neymar even went to greet Cristiano Ronaldo near the ring. The former Barcelona and Real Madrid arch-rivals, who share the same birthday, shared a heartwarming hug and conversed in Portuguese.