Celebrity boxing has seen a dramatic rise in popularity in recent years, thanks partly to Jake Paul.
Now, part-time MMA fighter turned popular influencer Keith Lee wants to try his hand at celebrity boxing with Chad Johnson.
Some MMA fans may know Lee due to his four-fight tenure in Bellator MMA, which has since been purchased by the PFL (Professional Fighters League). His brother, Kevin Lee, was also a big name in the UFC from 2014 to 2023 before being released by the promotion after a three-fight losing streak.
While Lee has stated he will still be taking MMA fights from time to time and does still train, he is now more popular than ever outside of the cage thanks to his thriving TikTok account, where he reviews restaurants around the country
. Currently, his TikTok account has 16.8 million followers and counting.
During an appearance on the Club Shay Shay podcast with Shannon Sharpe, Lee publicly called Johnson out to a celebrity boxing match, claiming that “anything under 200 can’t do anything with me.”
“If I’m gonna do anybody, let’s go, Chad,” said Lee. “Come on, Ocho. One, Ocho was talking hot. He was talking crazy. Ocho was talking on a different level. But, we’ve had a conversation since. I talked to Ocho. I come from a place of love, man. I come from a place of transparency. We had a conversation, Chad didn’t mean no harm. But, if you wanna put the gloves on, we can put the gloves on. I ain’t gonna lie, I’d whoop Chad’s ass. I’d take Ocho down through there.
“And again, that’s coming from a place of love. I’d take Ocho down through there. And I feel like we would sell out a big one for that. He’s what, 190, 185?… You gotta be two-something to do something around here. Non-professional, it’s different because, again, I was fighting at one of the highest levels that you could fight at. But non-professional, anything under 200 can’t do nothing with me.
“It’d be crazy. And we’re gonna hug each other and pray afterward.”
As Lee alluded to, Johnson is several inches taller and about 50 pounds heavier than Lee, considering Lee fights in the featherweight division (145 pounds) in MMA.
But with that being said, Lee is obviously a trained mixed martial artist with years of experience over Johnson. Although Johnson does have experience in boxing, taking part in a celebrity boxing match with MMA fighter and boxer Brian Maxwell on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Logan Paul event in 2021. Johnson will also participate in an exhibition MMA fight against fellow former NFL star James Harrison next year.
Perhaps it will depend on how Johnson does in his upcoming fight against Harrison. But clearly, Keith Lee feels as if Johnson has nothing to offer him in the boxing ring.