Patrick Clark, known in WWE as Velveteen Dream, drew on his experience in professional wrestling to promote his debut in boxing, although the pre-fight press conference ended up spiraling out of control. Clark will compete for the first time in a boxing match this Saturday, August 29, when he faces podcaster and social media personality Ryan Pownall at Duel Arena 1, to be held in Orlando, Florida. The public presentation of the fight had a tense moment after Pownall made a derogatory comment about his opponent's current professional stage.
While talking about the historic arenas where he had fought, Clark was interrupted by Pownall, who claimed he had gone from competing in big stages to fighting in "food court areas of shopping malls." The comment sparked an immediate reaction from the former WWE wrestler. Both were involved in a scuffle that didn't escalate into a physical fight, although Clark attempted to approach Pownall and briefly grabbed a metal bar. The object was removed by security personnel before it could be used, and Clark was escorted away.
After security took Clark away, Pownall proceeded with the traditional promotional face-off alone. Duel Arena has presented the content creator as the "CEO of ragebait," reinforcing the image of provocateur he seems to be using to build up the confrontation. The tension at the conference, while not resulting in actual physical aggression, added notoriety to a match pitting a former professional wrestler against a rival from the world of podcasts and social media.
The pay-per-view event will take place at the Kia Center in Orlando and was originally set to be headlined by Mike Perry against Dillon Danis. However, Danis pulled out of the card, and Brandon Jenkins was named as a last-minute replacement to face Perry. Clark's debut against Pownall is part of a show that had to modify its main event just days before taking place.
Clark was once considered a major prospect in WWE, especially by Paul "Triple H" Levesque and Shawn Michaels. After appearing on Tough Enough, he gained prominence in NXT under the persona of Velveteen Dream and even captured the NXT North American Championship at one point. However, various personal issues, including arrests and allegations of inappropriate behavior, marred his trajectory and prevented him from making it to the main roster. WWE terminated his contract in 2021.
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