Wayne Rooney's First Boxing Opponent Odds: Phil Bardsley Favourite To Face Wazza
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Wayne Rooney had a fight on his hands to keep Birmingham City in the Championship recently, but he may have an entirely different career challenge soon.
The ex-England captain was sacked from the Championship side in January, after winning just two of 15 matches and leaving the Blues perilously close to dropping into League One, but he is now rumoured to be turning his hand to boxing.
As a result, betting sites have reacted and priced up his most likely opponents in the ring, but will it happen?
A report in the Daily Mirror newspaper this week suggested Rooney was considering a fight with Misfits Boxing, a crossover boxing promotion founded by YouTuber KSI.
It was claimed Rooney sees the move as a "serious option" in his career, and the retired footballer has since confirmed he has held talks with Misfits.
When asked on The Overlap podcast if he will move into boxing anytime soon, he said: "You never know."
He then added: "No, 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."
KSI has also revealed he and Rooney have spoken about boxing one another.
He said in a press conference: "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, but if Wayne Rooney is down, I think it would be good to have him in the [influencer boxing] space."
While KSI turned down the opportunity, and Rooney looks set to concentrate on football, a charity boxing bout may well tempt the ex-Manchester United star to enter the ring soon, but who could he face?
Rooney Vs Bardsley II?
Rooney's former Manchester United teammate Phil Bardsley is the 6/4 favourite on specials betting sites to battle his former skipper in his first bout.
The pair have history of grappling after a video went viral in 2015 of them jokingly sparring at home, in which Rooney was knocked to the ground.
Rooney went on to celebrate a goal against Tottenham by shadow-boxing and then falling to the ground in a nod to the footage.
Speaking on United's website in 2019 about the video, he said: "The night with Bardo, we got home and we put the gloves on.
"It is something that we do quite regularly, but that one got out! After I went down [on the floor], the video stops, but I wasn’t knocked out. We got up and carried on.
"I remember when we finished and the two of us sat there, my nose had gone and Bardo had blood pouring out of his mouth. We were both looking at each other, saying: 'What are we doing?'"
Barton Bout Could Be On
If Rooney doesn't renew his playful rivalry with Bardsley, then perhaps he could battle former Manchester City star Joey Barton.
He is 2/1 on betting apps to go up against motor-mouth Barton, who has become as known for his controversial outbursts on X - formerly Twitter - as he was for his football career.
Should Rooney and Barton get in the ring, the match would likely be a popular one with viewers.
As part of a TV documentary, the ex-England defender logged his journey, but less than a year after his training began the British Boxing Board of Control denied him a licence.
However, Ferdinand could join Rooney in the ring for a Misfits event because the crossover boxing promotion isn't under the British Boxing Board of Control's rules, so such a fight wouldn't be a professional bout.
But one of Rooney's ex-United teammates he might want to avoid is his former captain Roy Keane.
Thankfully for Rooney, Keane is a 33/1 outsider to face him in a bout anytime soon, and it might be for the best.
Keane had a reputation during his playing days as a no-nonsense midfield enforcer, and he was also an amateur boxer at his local gym in Cork during his younger years - and unbeaten in his bouts.
Speaking previously to Sky's Stick to Football podcast about his boxing days, Keane said: "My brother had about 50 amateur fights, but I had about four fights. I was unbeaten, you know what I mean. It was great, brilliant when you were younger with training, I loved everything about it and the discipline."
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Wagatha Spin-Off In The Ring?
Another fight that would no doubt prove popular to watch would be Rooney taking on Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy.
It looks unlikely at 8/1 on new betting sites, especially with Vardy still playing for the Foxes, but it would be some story after the pair's wives publicly battled one another in court recently.
Wayne's wife Coleen Rooney previously accused Jamie's significant other Rebekah Vardy of leaking details of her private life to the press.
Coleen was subsequently sued for libel by Rebekah - in a feud that was dubbed "Wagatha Christie" by the media - but Coleen won the court case, and claimed she had always "stuck to [her] truth", while Rebekah has always maintained her innocence.
It would be an incredible extra chapter to the story if Wayne and Jamie went face-to-face in a boxing bout, but it looks unlikely.
It is nearly as unlikely as Rooney fighting NFL legend Tom Brady (16/1).
Brady is now a minority owner of Birmingham City, who fired Rooney last month.
A more likely opponent for Rooney could be ex-Man City defender Wayne Bridge (3/1), who has some boxing experience after he defeated reality TV star Spencer Matthews in a charity boxing match for Sport Relief in 2018.
Or Rooney could go up against MMA star Dillon Danis (9/2) or retired pro wrestler Wade Barrett (5/1).
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