Man Utd icon Wayne Rooney held talks for Jake Paul boxing match as Eddie Hearn says Old Trafford fight is ‘makeable’
EDDIE HEARN revealed Wayne Rooney has spoken to him about fighting Jake Paul with Old Trafford a realistic host.
Rooney is an avid boxing fan and even had a few amateur bouts in his youth, before becoming one of England’s greatest ever footballers.
But his desire to fight appears to have grown only stronger even in retirement, as promoter Hearn revealed talks between the two.
And he even believes a bout against YouTuber-turned boxer Paul at United’s Old Trafford stadium is possible.
He told Rio Ferdinand: “I’ve actually spoke to Wayne a few times about the Jake Paul fight.
“Normally, if he has a couple of glasses of red he’ll fire in a message to me at night going, ‘Listen, I wanna fight that geezer.’
“Wayne can fight, he had a couple of amateur fights – but him against Jake Paul at Old Trafford, that’s actually a makeable fight.”
Paul, 26, is a 6-1 professional boxer who most recently suffered defeat for the first time, losing to Tommy Fury, 23, in February.
Meanwhile Rooney, 37, is out in America managing DC United, the MLS team he played for between 2018 and 2019.
The United legend – who was infamously knocked out in his kitchen in a sparring session with Phil Bardsley – fancies his chances in the ring.
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And Paul’s YouTube boxing rival KSI, 29, claimed Rooney offered to fight him.
He said in January: “It’s funny – I hope he doesn’t get annoyed that I said this – but Wayne Rooney hit me up being like, ‘Oh, we should fight.’
“And I said no. I just don’t want to do that. If Wayne Rooney is down, of course I think it would be good to have him in this space.”