Wayne Rooney once offered to step into the ring to prepare Tyson Fury for his epic bout with Oleksandr Usyk. Fury revealed in 2022 that there were ‘very serious’ discussions over the Manchester United and England icon joining his camp before their first world title fight.
Rooney, who will take part in Soccer Aid today, is a huge boxing fan. He recently revealed that he had received offers to take part in Misfits boxing. A viral video once depicted the 39-year-old being knocked out by his former United team-mate Phil Bardsley, and he responded by shadow boxing the corner flag after scoring in the club’s next match, against Tottenham. In late 2022, Fury was keen to add Rooney to his team as he anticipated fighting Usyk, a fight which eventually took place two years later.
Speaking to ITV, The Gypsy King revealed: “I spoke to Wayne [Rooney] last night and he’s well up for it. But he’s a right-handed person, so he’s got to switch up to be southpaw left-handed. So we’re going to bring Wayne in for preparation for Usyk.”
When asked if it was a joke, Fury responded: “No, very, very serious. He’s agreed, so he’s going to come into camp for around four weeks to help me. I’m a big fan of his.”
Fury told talkSPORT of Rooney’s admiration for the sport: “He’s a massive boxing fan, he comes from a boxing family as well. So, hopefully, we can have a little spar in the future sometime. I do need someone smaller to prepare for Usyk. Wayne, if you’re listening, get on the blower, son.”
It is thought that the pair never actually got in the ring together. After a lengthy wait to finally get his fight with Usyk, Fury lost the initial bout by split decision in May 2024. He then lost the rematch in December 2024 by unanimous decision.
Meanwhile, Rooney is keen to enter boxing. However, he has put those plans on hold while he seeks a path back into football management. He was sacked as manager of Plymouth after a disastrous start to last season.
He told the Overlap: “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. There’s been a few [offers] and obviously Misfits have been in and that’s been all over the news. But listen, I want to focus on getting back into management, that’s my focus.”
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