Wayne Rooney breaks silence on ‘plans to become a boxer’ with KSI’s Misfits company

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Former Manchester United player Wayne Rooney has left the door open for a potential boxing match with Misfits Boxing, as he revealed that the promotion had contacted him about the possibility.

Following his departure from Birmingham City on January 2nd, the Manchester United legend stated that several parties had approached him about stepping into the ring.

When questioned by Gary Neville on the Stick to Football podcast about whether he would consider fighting, Rooney kept fans guessing, saying, “Never know.”

“They’ve been in touch and asked the question but I think at the minute, I want to focus on getting back into management, not boxing.

“They’ve been in touch to fight, yeah. There’s been a few and obviously that Misfits have been in [touch] and that’s been all over the news.

“Not a great title, that, is it?’ quipped Jamie Carragher.”

Rooney added: “Listen, I want to focus on getting back into management. That’s my focus. And I’ve seen all over the last couple of days all the headlines but my main focus is getting back in to football.”

Since its launch in 2022, Misfits Boxing has attracted a wide array of celebrities and aspiring stars to its events. Personalities like internet sensations KSI, Logan Paul, and Jay Swingler, as well as music stars such as Ashley and Myles from Rak-Su, have all participated in fights.

The events are streamed on DAZN, drawing millions of pay-per-view viewers, and have taken place in venues across England and the United States.

Despite his recent managerial struggles at Birmingham City, where he took over from John Eustace and oversaw a drop from sixth to 20th in the Championship, Wayne Rooney’s coaching career has shown promise.

He earned praise for his tenure at Derby County, where he navigated the team through a challenging period, including a 21-point deduction in the 2021/22 season, which resulted in relegation from the Championship.

Rooney also had a stint as manager of DC United in Major League Soccer, though his time there was less successful, with only 14 wins from 53 games in charge.

As he contemplates a potential boxing debut, Rooney will likely want to avoid a repeat of the infamous incident where he was knocked out by then-Manchester United teammate Phil Bardsley during a sparring session in his kitchen. The incident was captured on video and made headlines, leading Rooney to perform a memorable celebration mimicking being knocked out when he scored against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford shortly after.

Bardsley recalled the hilarious moment on the UTD Podcast in 2021.

“We were having a drink, having a laugh, playing guitar and the next minute these boxing gloves appear! I was thinking: ‘what’s going on here?’

“So my brother steps up, has a go with Wazza and obviously he loves his boxing, doesn’t he? He loves scrapping. And then I’m like: ‘give us them, I’ll have a go’.

“He’s throwing a few bombs and obviously he’s a big lad, isn’t he? Strong. We’re exchanging blows – the Crocky [Croxteth] kid and the Salford kid, there’s no holding back!

“He just walked into a jab. He was only out for a couple of seconds but we were all panicking – what’s going on here?

“We didn’t know what to do, panic stations and we had no phone signal. ‘We were all thinking: “if he doesn’t open his eyes, we can’t phone an ambulance, there’s no signal.” So much panic!

“Anyway, he comes around, goes to the sink. I’ve got a big cut lip, blood everywhere and he’s got some blood under his nose and we’re just looking at each other and laughing.”

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