Geordie Shore star Aaron Chalmers announced himself on the boxing scene with a lacklustre win over journeyman Alexander Zeledon in his debut.
The former reality TV star and Bellator MMA fighter quit fighting in the cage back in 2020, and has switched instead to becoming a professional boxer amid a host of celebrities coming to the sport. But he won't have put too many names on notice with a four-round win over Zeledon during his first outing in the ring.
Chalmers was known for finishing his MMA fights quickly, landing five stoppages including two knockouts during his short cage career. And at times he showed off his power this evening at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool against a game journeyman, who had fought 35 times heading into tonight's event.
Chalmers opened on the offensive, wearing Irish-emblazoned trunks and gloves in honour of his roommates and Boxing Booth training partners Michael Conlan and Kurt Walker. Zeledon started confidently, and appeared unfazed by the power of his British opponent.
But towards the end of the first, Chalmers hurt him with a right hand and unloaded in the corner. However, it seemed to do little to hinder the confidence of his opponent who sauntered to the corner.
Chalmers struggled to maintain the pace during the second, and arguably lost the round, but he exploded out in the third almost stopping the show with a right. But he took damage of his own, and at times looked like he may be in danger.
The Brit has been working with the legendary coach Adam Booth in his Redhill gym alongside the likes of Conlan, Walker, Josh Kelly and Shannon Courtenay. And there were points where he was able to show the work he had been putting in against Zeledon, who had fought six times since Chalmers' last Bellator fight.
Ultimately, he dominated the contest, but struggled to impose his size and power advantage over a journeyman opponent. He grew into the fight over four rounds, but will need to improve significantly to move on to bigger name opponents.
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Now, Chalmers is eyeing up a fight with his old MMA rival Anthony Taylor before attempting to make fights with the likes of Tommy Fury and Jake Paul. The cocky American Taylor has been angling for a fight with Chalmers since the pair were on the Bellator roster, and as a known sparring partner of Paul's he could be seen as a step on the path to facing the YouTube star.
"It's only the first one, a lot to learn," Chalmers said after the fight. "Now I've changed my lifestyle from back then where I would do an eight-week camp and three weeks drinking.
"I'm 18 months without a drink and hopefully with Wasserman we've got an exciting next 18-months. I chose to do this, so I've just got to take it."
Prior to Chalmers' victory, Tyson Fury's cousin Nathan Gorman landed a vicious first round knockout over Thomas Salek. The heavyweight prospect was making his return to the ring after over a year out with his world champion cousin in the crowd, and he will be looking for further fights within this year.
Ahead of Gorman's fight was Josh Kelly's comeback from his first career loss as a professional. He had been beaten by David Avanesyan for the European title, but he didn't let that affect him as he brutalised Peter Kramer over four rounds.
