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A celebrity boxing match between DMX and George Zimmerman has been canceled.

(Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)



A celebrity boxing match between George Zimmerman and rapper DMX has been canceled, according to the promoter and a rep for the rapper.

"Damon Feldman has announced that the George Zimmerman fight is canceled via his Twitter. As previously stated, DMX never agreed to the fight and we thank you for all of the support from DMX's fans," Domenick Nati told The Star-Ledger on Saturday night.

In a series of tweets Saturday afternoon that have since been deleted, Feldman explained his decision to cancel the match, days before a planned press conference with Zimmerman.

"This was the wrong person to put in the ring and define celebrity boxing thank you," he tweeted from his Twitter handle, @hollywoodbox11. "I walked away from av (sic) million dollar payday with this fight but to be honest I'd rather be happy and make people happy thank you."

Though Feldman, owner of Celebrity Boxing, took credit for organizing the bout between 30-year-old Zimmerman — who was acquitted in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin — a rep for the 43-year-old rapper insisted last week that no plans were finalized.

"The boxing match between George Zimmerman and DMX is not officially confirmed. DMX has promised to 'beat his ass,' but no contract or paperwork has been signed or agreed to yet," Nati told The Star-Ledger on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Feldman, who announced the fight on the eve of Martin's 18th birthday, was already promoting it, telling Phillymag.com on Wednesday, it would take place on March 15, most likely on the West Coast and be available on pay-per-view via the Internet. Asked whether the timing of the announcement was intentional, Feldman said, he was unaware of Martin's birth date and "just wanted to get the news out there."

Feldman is known for organizing bizarre celebrity matchups, such as Tonya Harding vs. Michael Lohan. DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was selected out of 15,000 emailed requests to fight Zimmerman, according to Feldman.

On Wednesday, the rapper told a Fox news station in South Carolina, where he lives, "I will gladly beat the (expletive) out of him (Zimmerman)," under one stipulation: "whatever money that was supposed to go to him (Zimmerman) would have to go to charity."

News of the fight sparked outrage and many people took to Twitter to attack Feldman. Organizers also wrote petitions to the White House and on Change.Org to stop the event. The Facebook page, "Cancel George Zimmerman's 'Celebrity' Boxing Match," was also launched. The page had more than 318,000 likes as of this morning.

Feldman said Saturday that he was moved by the backlash.

"I'm sorry for anyone I hurt with this, but this was a very big opportunity," Feldman tweeted Saturday. "More to life then (sic) money. It was worth a lot of money to me, but people's feelings meant more to me."

RELATED COVERAGE:

• DMX vs. George Zimmerman in 'celebrity boxing match'? Not yet, says the rapper

• George Zimmerman to fight rapper DMX in celebrity boxing match

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