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George Zimmerman – the man acquitted of murdering unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in July 2013 – has signed up to take part in a celebrity boxing match.
Damon Feldman, the promoter organising the bout with the star, has confirmed that the fight will take place on 1 March, and that Zimmerman, who is, according to TMZ ‘open to fighting anyone… Even black people’, will donate any earnings he makes from the bout to charity.
Feldman is yet to find an opponent, but said he wasn’t looking to promote the event as "a race thing".
"We haven't discussed purple, yellow, white, black," he added.
But one rapper of African-American decent, who has a tattoo of Zimmerman’s victim Martin on his leg, has offered to step into the ring.
"I would not be boxing for me," The Game told TMZ. "I'd be boxing for the legacy of Trayvon Martin and for his family."
"I would box him to knock him out.
"I would definitely take pleasure in it. It's legal, and I want to show him you can solve your disputes without a weapon."
Standing at a towering 6’5” and weighing in at 240lbs, the Game would certainly present a challenge.
Zimmerman was found not guilty of all charges levied against him, after he fatally shot unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin during a fight in February 2012 inside a gated community in Sanford. The 30-year-old Hispanic man claimed that he had killed Martin with a weapon in an act of self-defence.
Zimmerman remained without charge for 44 days after the shooting occurred, which led to nationwide protests and sparked furious debate over racial profiling and the right to use weapons in self-defence. Further demonstrations broke out after Zimmerman was acquitted in 2013.
Federal authorities are currently reviewing the entire case to decide whether Martin’s civil rights were violated.
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Watch Jay-Z condemn Zimmerman's acquital in this interview
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