Trayvon Benjamin Martin

Trayvon Benjamin Martin

Born: February 5, 1995

Miami, Florida, U.S.

Died : February 26, 2012 (aged 17)

Sanford, Florida, U.S.

Cause of death: Homicide (gunshot wound)

Resting place : Dade Memorial Park

Trayvon Benjamin Martin (February 5, 1995 – February 26, 2012) was a 17-year-old African-American from Miami Gardens, Florida, who was fatally shot in Sanford, Florida by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic American. Martin had gone with his father on a visit to his father's fiancée at her townhouse at The Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford. On the evening of February 26, Martin was walking back to the fiancée's house from a nearby convenience store. Zimmerman, a member of the community watch, saw Martin and reported him to the Sanford Police as suspicious. Several minutes later, there was an altercation and Zimmerman fatally shot Martin in the chest.

Zimmerman was injured during the altercation with Martin. He said he shot Martin in self-defense and was not charged at the time. The police said there was no evidence to refute his claim of self-defense, and Florida's stand your ground law prohibited them from arresting or charging him. After national media focused on the incident, Zimmerman was eventually charged and tried, but a jury acquitted him of second-degree murder and manslaughter in July 2013.

Martin was born in Miami, Florida, and attended both Norland Middle School and Highland Oaks Middle School, in north Miami-Dade County, Florida. He attended Miami Carol City High School in Miami Gardens for his freshman and sophomore years. At the time of the shooting, Martin was a junior at Dr. Michael M. Krop High School in north Miami.

On Tuesday, TMZ announced that George Zimmerman, the man acquitted in the death of Trayvon Martin, would fight DMX in an upcoming celebrity boxing match. But as the rapper’s rep tells Rolling Stone, the rapper is only in negotiating stages and has yet to confirm the fight.

“The boxing match between George Zimmerman and DMX is not officially confirmed,” says DMX’s publicist Domenick Nati. “DMX has promised to ‘beat his ass’, but no contract or paperwork has been signed or agreed to yet. DMX will release an official statement if and when an agreement is made.”

After Trayvon: Will There Be Justice for Florida’s Other Stand Your Ground Victim?

Damon Feldman, the boxing promoter who first announced that DMX would be Zimmerman’s opponent, is holding a press conference with Zimmerman next Wednesday in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. “We have an agreement with Zimmerman,” Feldman tells Rolling Stone. “[DMX] is in the negotiating round with my attorneys. If he don’t want to do it, I’ll pull him out in a second and get somebody else. I couldn’t care less.”

Feldman was blunt when asked why DMX was approached for the fight. “We like him because he’s controversial,” says Feldman. “Zimmerman’s controversial. And that’s it. He asked to fight him and said, ‘He’ll piss on his face.’ It’s not like we picked him out of a hat.”

Nati said that he was unaware of the press conference ahead of time and that it’s “just a little premature” that the fight will happen. “DMX has stated that he would be willing to fight George Zimmerman and that he would beat him,” says Nati.