Celebrity boxing has always lived at the crossroads of spectacle, controversy, and culture. From early novelty bouts to MTV-era experiments, the idea of famous names trading punches has often been dismissed as gimmicky. But long before influencer boxing became a billion-view ecosystem, one name kept pushing the concept forward. This guy battled against ridicule, obstacles and was ahead of his time. That name is Damon Feldman.
Based in Philadelphia, Feldman quietly built a parallel fight universe that blended pop culture, Hip-Hop energy, and real combat structure. His work with Celebrity Boxing revived a format many had written off. He went from rappers to reality stars to former champions. After the pandemic, Feldman found himself in the right place at the right time.
Now, he’s doing it again with XRumble Fighting Championships, a hybrid league designed to move beyond novelty and toward legitimacy. In a wide-ranging conversation with AllHipHop’s Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur, Feldman breaks down his journey, the future of female boxing stars, Hip-Hop beefs that should be settled with gloves, and more.
AllHipHop: Tell everybody what you’re up to now, because your boxing game has been crazy.
Damon Feldman: It’s crazy. When I first met you, I was on the grind trying to make celebrity boxing work. People didn’t really believe in it. It ended up working. Now we’re turning everything into XRumble Fighting Championships, which is a new boxing league. It’s stand-up striking with MMA gloves. No takedowns, just striking. So they battle it out, and XRumble is really an alternative to celebrity boxing.
AllHipHop: Celebrity boxing really put you on the map.
Damon Feldman: Yeah, one hundred percent. I was undefeated, 9-and-0. When my boxing career ended, I didn’t know what else to do. So I put together a celebrity boxing match here in Philly and sold it to Dick Clark Productions.
AllHipHop: Oh wow, I didn’t know that.
Damon Feldman: Yeah, only two years ago.
AllHipHop: Let’s get right into it. Tell people what you’re doing in April.
Damon Feldman: I’m really excited. We signed Chrisean Rock. She’s one of the biggest female internet personalities connected to Hip-Hop. A lot of people don’t understand she was on American Ninja Warrior and she won it. She was also one of the stars of Baddies. I watched her spar with Ryan Garcia, and we ended up talking. I connected with her manager, Kimberly Ross, and now we’re putting her fight together. She’s fighting Zenith Zion.
Chrisean is training with Gervonta Davis’ trainers, Calvin Ford and Kenny Ellis. I really think we’re going to see boxing’s next female star.
AllHipHop: Do you think you’ll be able to take it to the next level with her?
Damon Feldman: Yeah, no doubt. She has what it takes. You could see it when she was sparring Ryan Garcia. She was trying to knock his head off. You could tell something was different. She’s a nice woman, she trains hard, and she’s got star quality.
AllHipHop: She also knows how to cut through the noise on social media. AllHipHop has covered her for years.
Damon Feldman: That’s wild. When we did the signing, you would’ve thought I signed Michelle Obama. Everybody was losing it. Not many people have that.
AllHipHop: I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t bring this up. Blueface has a fight coming up too.
Damon Feldman: Yeah, he’s fighting Swaggy P. He fought on our platform before. My brother’s bare-knuckle promotion organized a boxing match for them. There was a fight that didn’t happen because COVID messed it up.
AllHipHop: I didn’t know that. That’s interesting.
AllHipHop: You’ve done a lot of fights. What’s your favorite celebrity fight?
Damon Feldman: It has to be Lamar Odom versus Aaron Carter. Ice-T hosted it, Kid Chocolate refereed it. It was right after the pandemic. It felt like the revival of Celebrity Boxing. I was in the right place at the right time.
AllHipHop: Tell people some of the other fights you’ve put together.
Damon Feldman:
Everybody. Vanilla Ice fought Todd Bridges. William “The Refrigerator” Perry. Manute Bol. Lamar Odom. Aaron Carter. Blac Chyna. If you had your fifteen minutes of fame, you probably fought for me. Benzino fought for me. Peter Gunz fought Cisco Rosado. Rich Dollaz refereed.
AllHipHop: There was one fight I didn’t like. That virtual one.
Damon Feldman: The Roy Jones metaverse fight. Shout out to NDO Champ. We were pitched the first AI metaverse match. We tried it. It was just before its time. The fighters actually fought in the gym and it was turned into a virtual experience. It didn’t land how we wanted, but we tried.
AllHipHop: Still cool footage though.
Damon Feldman: Yeah, and we still have it.
AllHipHop: Give me your top five boxers of all time.
Damon Feldman: Mike Tyson. Floyd Mayweather. Muhammad Ali. Bernard Hopkins. Roy Jones Jr.
AllHipHop: Philly needs a Bernard Hopkins statue.
Damon Feldman: Absolutely. The Executioner. We trained together at Champs Gym in North Philly. He showed you never quit. He’s a hero.
AllHipHop: A lot of people try to do what you do.
Damon Feldman: They do. They think money will solve everything. You can’t buy experience. I have more experience in this space than probably anyone in the world. I don’t get mad. I already know how it ends.
AllHipHop: Is there anyone you still want to work with?
Damon Feldman: Shaq. I’ve been trying forever. Anything he touches turns to gold. And I want to work with you. We need to put something together.
AllHipHop: A Hip-Hop boxing series would be crazy.
Damon Feldman: Absolutely. Rappers talk tough all day. Step in the ring. Even if you lose, you gain respect. I’d love to do a Hip-Hop boxing series.
AllHipHop: Back in the day, Grandmaster Melle Mel fought Willie D.
Damon Feldman: I didn’t even know that.
AllHipHop: Any final words for the people?
Damon Feldman: If you have a dream, go after it. Don’t quit. Don’t accept no. You can achieve anything if you have heart and determination.
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