Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has backed out of the much-hyped battle of the billionaires at Rome’s legendary Colosseum, his would-be sparring partner and X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk claimed on Tuesday.
Musk tweeted that Zuckerberg “declined” when the Roman amphitheater was proposed as the location for the charity bout last week, and wouldn’t even agree to fight Musk in his backyard practice ring.
“I suggested his home as ‘safe space.’ Tragically, he was ahem ‘traveling,’” Musk continued, suggesting his opponent had offered up the excuse to get out of the cage match.
Zuckerberg had already accused Musk of being “not serious” and declared it was “time to move on,” in a post to Meta’s Twitter clone Threads on Sunday. “Elon won’t confirm a date, then says he needs surgery, and now asks to do a practice round in my backyard instead,” he complained.
The Meta CEO left the door open for his X Corp counterpart, however, writing, “If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me.” Until then, Zuckerberg pledged to “focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously.”
Musk responded by calling Zuckerberg a “chicken.”
The SpaceX and Tesla CEO last week teased the Colosseum as the location for the fight he challenged Zuckerberg to in June, claiming Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano were on board, without mentioning either by name. The bout would have an “Ancient Rome theme,” he tweeted.
Sangiuliano confirmed on Friday that he had spoken with Musk about hosting the fight in Italy as a charity event.
The billionaires had agreed to stream the event live over both of their platforms, with proceeds to be donated to a veterans’ charity, but were unable to agree on a date. Musk revealed just days before announcing the Rome location that he may need back surgery before taking on his fellow tech billionaire.
Zuckerberg’s proposed date of August 26 has allegedly gone unconfirmed by his would-be opponent.
Zuckerberg obtained a blue belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu last month after over a year training in the sport. He has hinted he plans to fight an actual professional mixed martial arts fighter next, and UFC boss Dana White confirmed to TMZ that “he is serious about fighting in the UFC.” Musk, in a recent text message, acknowledged to Zuckerberg he has “not been practicing much” aside from sparring with fellow tech personality Lex Fridman.