Will Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney step into the ring? A month on from his latest managerial departure, a fight could well and truly be on the cards.
On Wednesday reports suggested that the former footballer could enter the world of influencer boxing in a latest career twist. It is said that the 43-year-old has been in close contact with Misfits Boxing as he weighs up what to do next.
Whilst not a new idea, Rooney has largely been committed to football management since his retirement from playing in 2021. During the final months of his playing career he acted as player-manager of Derby County before taking on the role full-time until summer 2022. He soon made the switch to MLS side D.C. United, then switched again in October last year when returning to the Championship with Birmingham City.
A disastrous run of two wins in 15 matches led to his sacking after only 11 weeks, so now falls the first period since retirement in which there is an opportunity to take a step back and assess the bigger picture.
So with that in mind, here is a deep delve into what is known about Rooney’s history with boxing – his past ‘involvement’ with the sport and some hints of potential opponents along the way…
Big fan, even bigger knockout
Croxteth-born Rooney was known to be a fan of the sport throughout his playing days, often sitting ringside for major bouts.
He even admitted in the past to sparring with mates whenever the possibility arose – something that ultimately led to the highlight of his boxing ‘career’ to date.
After a night out in 2015, footage emerged of Rooney sparring with ex-team-mate Phil Bardsley in his kitchen, which led to the former being knocked out cold for a matter of seconds. After it blew up on social media, it sparked that famous self-deprecating celebration against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.
Bardsley responds
Five years later, Rooney’s opponent that night in his kitchen joked about the incident whilst explaining his hope to one day face off properly in the ring.
“We’re getting ready for when we retire — we’re just negotiating with Eddie Hearn! I want it at MGM in Vegas or New York!” Bardsley said.
“But yeah, we used to knock the f*** out of each other all the time — not necessarily me at his house but in terms of him sparring people. We’re just normal kids from an estate.”
At the time the former full-back was playing for Burnley, his penultimate club before calling time on a 20-year career in English football last summer, whilst Rooney had just signed for Derby County.
KSI claim
Fast-forward two years, Rooney was heading the project over at D.C. United whilst back home influencer KSI claimed he had been offered a fight by England’s former all-time leading goalscorer.
Speaking in December 2022 ahead of a fight against Dillon Danis, KSI – real name Olajide Olatunji – said: “It’s funny, and I hope he doesn’t get annoyed that I’m saying this, but Wayne Rooney hit me up saying ‘oh we should fight’. I said ‘no’, I just don’t want to do that.”
Although he added: “If Wayne Rooney is down, I think it would be good to have him in the [influencer boxing] space,” which is important to remember as KSI was the founder of Misfits Boxing, who Rooney is said to have been in recent discussions with.
Hearn chatter slammed by Froch
Throughout last year promoter Eddie Hearn was hot on the topic of Rooney following up his alleged call-out of KSI.
First in March, the head of Matchroom Boxing let slip that he was often on the receiving end of text messages from Rooney about a potential fight.
“Rooney can fight, I’ve spoken to Wayne. When Wayne has a drink, he’ll message me and he’ll start going, ‘I’ll fight him and I’ll fight him,’ and I get excited,” he explained on Peter Crouch’s podcast.
“Sometimes I get a message from Wayne saying, ‘Make me vs so and so, make that fight.’ I’ll look at it in the morning and go, ‘This is massive’. So I’ll message him back, ‘Few glasses of red or [are you serious?]’. Then he won’t reply and I’ll go, ‘Damn.’ But Wayne can fight.”
He then recounted a similar version of the story making an appearance on Gary Neville’s The Overlap podcast later in the year.
Finally November, just after Rooney took the job at Birmingham City, Hearn added to those comments by suggesting that Rooney’s first opponent could be 27-year-old influencer boxer Jake Paul. However it was safe to say that the idea was not universally popular as Carl Froch led the criticism.
“I don’t know why Eddie Hearn is talking about Jake Paul versus Wayne Rooney, Rooney’s a football manager,” said the former super-middleweight champion. “I don’t like the way some boxing promoters are going down the route of crossover fights because a former football player versus a YouTuber is a load of rubbish and I don’t get it.
“I don’t get why a proper promoter is talking up a match between Wayne Rooney and Jake Paul. But does that tell us something about the state of boxing at the minute? Would Wayne Rooney v Jake Paul be the biggest fight that Eddie Hearn can make at the minute?
“It’s all getting a bit silly to me because I grew up watching proper fighters fighting everybody.”
