Duel Arena took its feud with Velveteen Dream somewhere ugly after his chaotic boxing match against Ryan Pownall. The promotion’s verified Twitter account targeted Patrick Clark Jr. with comments calling him a “chimp” and an “actual monkey.”
The first post arrived after Clark was disqualified for throwing Pownall out of the ring twice. Duel Arena tagged Clark directly while pretending to apologize for booking him.
“Duel Arena would like to apologize for ever having platformed this classless, disqualified chimp @PatrickClarkJr & will promise to do better by its fighters in the future.”
The promotion followed that by congratulating Pownall on his victory. In a separate reply involving footage of Clark, the same Duel Arena account wrote:
“Actual monkey.”
The comments immediately pushed the situation beyond trash talk over a boxing match. Clark is a Black man, and comparing him to a chimp or monkey carries an obvious and deeply racist history.
Clark’s fight with Pownall had already turned into a complete circus. The former WWE star repeatedly grabbed his opponent, tangled with him in the ropes and sent him crashing outside the ring. The referee deducted a point and issued a warning after Clark threw Pownall through the ropes. When Clark did it again, the referee stopped the fight and awarded Pownall the victory by disqualification.
Duel Arena could have criticized Clark’s behavior, condemned the illegal throws or celebrated Pownall’s win without going anywhere near racist language. Instead, the promotion used its verified account to post comments that had nothing to do with boxing.
What do you make of Duel Arena’s comments toward Patrick Clark Jr. after the fight? Share your thoughts in the comments.
