Evander Holyfield took the stage at a Donald Trump rally in Arizona, adding his voice to a growing list of combat sports legends backing the president’s 2026 midterm push.
“First of all, I’m thankful to be here, and I’d like to thank Donald Trump,” Holyfield told the crowd. “I had a great relationship with him, and every time I competed, I competed to win. And he gave me the opportunity, and I’m so happy for him to be our president. And so thank you very much.”
The appearance by the former heavyweight champion fits into a strategy Republicans have deployed in recent months, bringing high-profile athletes to rallies across the country as Election Day approaches on November 3.
Texas, New York, and Arizona have all hosted events featuring sports figures, with Trump’s team betting that familiar faces from the ring, the field, and the rink can generate the kind of energy needed to drive turnout.
Holyfield’s remarks followed a similar appearance by Floyd Mayweather at another Trump rally. The undefeated boxer spoke about his pride in representing America at the 1996 Olympic Games and connected that experience to his political support.
“It was great to represent this country in the 1996 Olympic Games, to go out there and represent the red, white, and blue,” Mayweather said. “And we couldn’t have chose a better president twice than Donald Trump.”
The focus on athletes extends well beyond rally appearances. Trump has woven sports into his political calendar throughout the year, attending major college football games and inviting the gold medal-winning U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team to the 2026 State of the Union.
UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje also spoke at the Republican National Convention, though he later acknowledged the experience tested him in unexpected ways.
“I did speak at the Republican National Convention a couple weeks ago, but they gave me like a two days notice and I had a golf tournament,” Gaethje said on the Flagrant podcast with Andrew Schulz. “So I like wrote the speech while I was doing the golf tournament, but I didn’t have enough time to like memorize it. So then I knew I was going to look stupid reading off a teleprompter.”
Gaethje who had never addressed a crowd of that size before, found the teleprompter more challenging than stepping into the octagon. “I know, but this is my first time ever. So I was like, I don’t know how I’m gonna look. And then I was looking like a [ ]head,” he said. “So I was nervous about that, but I wasn’t nervous to go out there, right? Cuz I was like, I have to do it. I’m here. Can’t get out of it.”
Other notable athletes have joined the effort. Former MLB pitcher Roger Clemens introduced Trump at a rally in San Antonio, Texas, a moment that led the president to announce plans to award Clemens the Presidential Medal of Freedom. New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart has also drawn attention as a high-profile athlete whose support Trump’s team has promoted.
Some athletes have moved beyond endorsements and into campaigns of their own. Former New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is running for the U.S. House in Texas’s heavily Republican 21st Congressional District. In Arizona, former NFL kicker Jay Feely is seeking a House seat in the 1st Congressional District, with recent polling showing him within a few percentage points of his Democratic opponent. In Minnesota, former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya is campaigning for the U.S. Senate, though she trails by more than five points in polling.
Not everyone believes the strategy will translate into measurable results at the ballot box. David Niven, a political scientist at the University of Cincinnati suggested the real value lies elsewhere.
“For your average political figure, they’re really interested in the imagery associated with sports, but this is not what drives where the campaign checks are flowing,” he said. “It probably gives them a good feeling about energy more than it drives any votes.”
