‘Wayne Rooney threw punch at boxing legend at my wedding – I couldn’t believe it’

Wayne Rooney once threw a punch at one of Britain’s greatest-ever boxers at a friend’s wedding, leaving the groom with further anxiety on what was already one of the biggest days of his life

Wayne Rooney was involved in a playful altercation with Joe Calzaghe at Paul Stretford’s wedding. As the Manchester United icon celebrates his 40th birthday, he sat down on the Wayne Rooney Show with Stretford, Tony Bellew and the BBC to recount some of his fondest memories.

After speaking about his time under David Moyes at Everton and how he first met boxing legend Bellew, the conversation sharply turned to an interaction Rooney once had with another famed pugilist. Stretford recalled his wedding day with a smile as he said: “So I was looking after Joe at the time.

“So Joe came to the wedding, Wayne’s there of course. And we’ve had a few drinks and he offers Joe Calzaghe out. I’m stood there talking to them both and he goes, ‘Alright Joe.’ ‘Alright Wayne?’ ‘Could have you.’

“I’m looking and I’m thinking, ‘You’re joking me.’ He’s going, ‘No, just calm down…I just want to do a bit of shadow boxing with him.’ So we go out and we go onto the green outside where we were – middle of my wedding.

“So we go out and Joe’s going, ‘Don’t worry, it’s nothing.’ So he goes out, first thing, so Joe’s just sort of stood there. He’s [Wayne’s] in – to the ribs.”

With a chuckle and a hint of sarcasm, Rooney then added: “I seen him, he was a bit vulnerable, he’d had a few drinks. Might give him his first defeat,” alluding to Calzaghe’s incredible undefeated boxing career, which spanned from 1993 to 2008.

When Stretford explained he was worried that Calzaghe was going to react, Bellew added: “As a fighter, they never react to stuff like that. But he’s only just challenged the greatest fighter Britain’s ever produced. Fantastic.”

To which, Stretford replied: “But that’s Wayne, eh?” before Bellew added: “It is. He’s lively and yeah, he’s even more lively if he’s had a pint – as most men are, to be honest, to be fair.

“We’re all the same, we’re all children who have never really grown up. And Wazza’s one of the biggest children I’ve ever met.”

Despite sharing the ring with the likes of Roy Jones Jr, Chris Eubank and Byron Mitchell over the course of his incredible career, Calzaghe retired in 2009 with an unblemished record of 46-0 with 32 knockouts.

He will also be remembered as the longest-reigning super-middleweight champion in history, with 21 successful defences of his belt over the course of nine years.

He also won The Ring’s light-heavyweight title thanks to a split-decision win over Bernard Hopkins in 2008, defending it the same year against Jones Jr. It comes as Rooney also cleared up that he has no interest in making his way to the squared-circle for a sanctioned boxing bout of his own any time soon.

When asked if he’s ever been tempted, he replied: “No, you get asked to go and do Misfits and all that. You look at Jake Paul and what he’s done, he’s a good boxer. KSI does well and whatever, but no. It’s a bit of fun and mess around.”

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