As a follower of boxing for more than 20 years, time should be called on these ridiculous ex-footy player bouts before someone gets killed.
Paul Gallen and Sonny Bill Williams are reportedly trying to get a bout with Mike Tyson. For those in the know, Tyson has already committed to bare-knuckle boxing to fight Shannon Briggs.
A tough guy on a footy field, or down the pub, is ill-equipped to deal with a professional fighter having spent years honing their skills in a gym, not to mention arguably the most feared and brutal heavyweight of our time.
Tyson qualified for the Olympics, turned pro at 18 and was the youngest heavyweight ever at 20 years and four months. And having recently seen him working out, he is in phenomenal shape and still a handful at 53 with his speed and power.
Thank goodness Jeff Fenech called it for what is was: a dangerous and stupid idea. Fenech who knows Tyson well, also knows his capability as a fighter.
Both Williams and Gallen are footy legends to all in Australia. However, boxing legends they are not. Neither possesses enough fire power, hand speed, head movement or footwork to do anything serious in a boxing.
(Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
Tyson, on the other hand, displays all of these skills even at his age. People who lived in New York, as I did when Tyson was beginning his career, saw an unstoppable teenager who struck fear in the heart of seasoned pros.
He was so ferocious that he could hardly find sparring partners. Before his personal difficulties took over, he resided with Cus D’Amato, and was a hurricane that nobody had seen the like of before or since.
Continuing on the line of one-sided bouts, Oscar De La Hoya is set to take on Conor McGregor. Again, he is a top-level Olympic and professional fighter, and behind Floyd Mayweather he is one of the best fighters in his time pound for pound. I hate to say this but I hope De La Hoya teaches McGregor a lesson that he never returns to a boxing ring again.
A great UFC legend he is, a boxer he is not. A distinct lake of power and movement make him relatively harmless in a boxing ring. I doubt it will be any better than the one-sided affair in the Mayweather fight.
Perhaps the only person to have picked up professional boxing successfully later in his life was Anthony Mundine. He was a gifted fighter who took up pro boxing at 25 after only four amateur bouts at the age of 17.
Mundine’s natural ability allowed him to become a world champion in a very competitive weight class – truly a real-life Rocky story. Whether you like Mundine or not, coming from a boxing family, he had that one-in-a-million talent that took him to the top.
That is something that may never be repeated again. I sometimes wonder had Mundine chosen boxing over the NRL, how great he may have become.
Boxing has many talented fighters in Australia, and there in no need to sully the sport with ridiculous speculation. Williams and Gallen need to stay in their lane and enjoy the limelight for the great players they were.
Steve 50
Roar Rookie
Botha a good pro who fought both Tyson and Lennox lewis, was too much for SBW in 2013. SBW was listless, and didn’t know where he was. Just a crooked biased ref saved SBW.
Horseflesh
Guest
Maybe Sonny Bill could fight Tyson over 10 rounds, no make that eight, no six, no two rounds, no the one with the most points after twenty seconds. Remember that against Botha? What a disgusting display of cheating! SBW and his manager should have been banned for life from boxing after that bare-faced con.
steve b
Roar Guru
As Gall said its never going to happen this promoter wanted some free air time its all BS . Mighty Mike would knock any of these C grade fighters to never never land . Although Mike is 53 he is one of the best and hardest punchers we have ever seen and watching his training videos he hasnt lost to much over the years and nothing short of a well trained boxer of equal talent would go 60 seconds with him . So.lets wait and see what Mike decides but it wont be any wanna be,s thats a sure bet.
adam smith
Guest
Mate, check out the training videos Iron Mike is putting up on Instagram & YouTube...he is still unreal in his finesse, technique & power...you couldn’t pay me enough to get in the ring with him????.
Marty
Roar Rookie
I think it’s going to take one of these guys copping a proper flogging before the others decide that maybe it’s not such a good idea.
Tom G
Roar Rookie
Like many I couldn’t believe it when he decided to give up NRL for boxing and thought it wouldn’t end well for him. I was very wrong. Mundine was a great boxer and walked away with his head held high. His army of detractors obsess over the self promotion but fail to recognise that it was merely promotion. His work for his community speaks volumes about his character
Davico
Roar Pro
I'm gad that it has come out the Tyson has said he would only fight a real boxer! Might give these guys a much needed reality check. And whoever the promoter who thought that $3mil would get it done was delusional!
Alex
Roar Rookie
Supporters of boxing do, these bouts are becoming dangerous and could harm Australias good name in boxing if someone gets badly hurt.
1.5 metres please
Guest
Who really gives a rats , if these blokes wanna get bashed it’s their call .
Davico
Roar Pro
De La Hoya has not asked for a fight with McGregor. He said that he would KO him in 2 rounds when in his prime. FMJ carried CM to put on a show. I agree that footy players should think twice about stepping in the ring, but let’s be honest, they are not getting in there with anyone with any skills. The problem is with people who know zero about the sport watching these idiots which means the money is there. I also have an issue with calling Gallen a “legend”?! But if he wants to do more damage to his very small brain than he already has, he can go ahead and jump in the ring with real boxers. I won’t be watching
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
It’s just absurd. It won’t happen, but if it did they’d have to have the Medical Examiners standing by ready to perform the autopsies. Mike Tyson will still be able to knock a building over when he’s my age.
Clanger McClunk
Roar Rookie
I remember that night. Fatty and I think it was Matty Johns had a spar with two others acting the goat with them. When Chief had his turn he decided to get serious and try his luck. Unfortunately for the Chief the other bloke became serious and it was good night Chief, a very quick good night. There is a big difference between footballers who think they can fight and a boxer.
Alex
Roar Rookie
Do you remember Paul Harrogan on the footy being knocked silly by a top amateur fighter heading I think to the World champs this my point, they are good enough, sorry glorified pub fights aren't boxing. Some greedy promoter may put them in harms way to make a dollar, not good.
max power
Guest
correct, i agree with the article but its a moot point as Tyson would never fight these relative no ones. he can earn 10 times as much fighting bigger names
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
A lot of people derived great pleasure from Justin Hodges' last "fight".
Clanger McClunk
Roar Rookie
Good story with the first and third paragraphs nailing it. It is a disgrace to boxing that the relevant authorities allow these retired footy players to become instant pros. Real boxers take years to learn the craft like Kostya Tszyu having 270 amateur bouts before turning pro. Turning this story around, just imagine a retired boxer deciding he wants to be a NRL player. It won't work because he hasn't learnt the skills of the game growing up playing it. Jeff Fenech had a go at RL and flopped. It takes talent and lots of it to become good at any sport, boxing probably moreso than any other because your opponent is trying his best to belt you into next week. A poster on here earlier today said "it's nothing more than training" talking about pro athletes being committed. There are plenty of heavily committed boxers in training that will never attain stardom. If someone takes up boxing at an age when athletes are at the back-end of their careers and wins a few, that tells me the talent pool is dry.
Big Daddy
Guest
Dogs, you could probably put both in the ring against Tyson at the same time and they'd both struggle.
Dogs Boddy
Roar Rookie
I love Gal, did wonderful things for our club. Tyson would annihilate him, then Sonny Bill, then the next two or three mugs who think they can box behind them. And that would just be round 1. I know athletes should set their sights high, but you also have to be a bit realistic. This is like trying to climb Everest wearing nothing but a Mankini.
Simoc
Guest
Yes Mayweather didn't want to fight McGregor but was offered US$350m to do so. He knew he had to fight 25minutes to win and give the punters something to see so he did. The money offered was ridiculous so he took it. SBW has already fought a previously ranked South African heavy weight boxer Francois Botha and didn't look very good. He won after the fight was cut to 10 rounds, which no-one told Botha. Botha was all over Williams at the end and Williams was gone, could barely stand up. I think its ok for boxer Shannon Biggs to take on Tyson but not Gallen or Williams. Tyson used to absolutely demolish the very best heavyweight boxers and could easily kill those three on the same night if he wasn't restrained. As he's fighting for charity I can't see Tysons motivation.
TRDub
Guest
I tend to agree with you, it's all well and good going out to fight Francois Botha, John Hopoate or..... well Barry Hall, but even at 53, Tyson is on a different plateau to all of those guys. Looking at Tyson these days, he appears to be quiet, softly-spoken, and in some respects, a little ashamed of the person he used to be. It wouldn't take him long though, once he gets in the ring to snap back into 'Killer Mike' mode. Anyone who watched him during his prime will know how terrifying a sight he was. I still believe he won fights before they started, just based on the fear he instilled in the other fighter. Check out his square ups on Youtube. Look at the other fighters eyes.... :sick: Also, like Fenech said, Tyson could get $20 million for a fight in Saudi Arabia, or at least a good chunk of that in Vegas. Much more than is on offer than the reported $3 mill figure thats being thrown around.