Amir Khan picks ‘the right fight’ for Wayne Rooney after ‘spat’ – ‘he could get hurt’

Lewis Oldham
Man Utd legend Rooney
Wayne Rooney and Amir Khan.

Former world champion Amir Khan has picked “the right fight” for Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney if he is to make his debut in boxing.

Since retiring from football in 2021, Rooney has been mainly focused on management. He has had spells at Derby County, DC United Birmingham City.

Is Rooney turning to boxing?

His stint at Birmingham City was a disaster as he was sacked in January after winning just two of his 15 games in charge.

Last month, The Mirror claimed Rooney has ‘held talks’ with Misfits Boxing and is ‘considering’ fighting for the promotion.

Rooney is a big boxing fan and was infamously knocked out by former Man Utd defender and close friend Phil Bardsley during a sparring session in his kitchen.

The Man Utd legend has moved to pour cold water on these reports as he “wants to focus on getting back into management”.

“You never know. 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,” Rooney said during his appearance on The Stick to Football podcast.

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When asked who has been in contact, he added: “There’s been a few. Obviously Misifts have been in, and that’s been all over the news or whatever, but listen: I want to focus on getting back into management. That’s my focus.

“I’ve seen all [the headlines] over the last couple of days, but my main focus is getting back into football.”

“That’s a very good even fight…”

These comments have not prevented retired boxer Khan from picking Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy as “the right fight” for Rooney.

Presumably, Vardy and Rooney do not get along too well as their respective wives were at the centre of the Wagatha Christie court battle. Khan reckons this “spat” would make it so their fight “would sell well”.

“Jamie Vardy is the right fight for Wayne Rooney, that’s a very good even fight,” Khan told Gambling Zone.

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“They’ve got the spat their wives have had, what a fight that would make, it would sell well. They’re both around the same level as well. They’re both novices. I’d back Wayne though because Wayne’s more streetwise, he’s more solid.

“You don’t want to put him in the ring with someone that could hurt him, or outbox and make him look stupid, it should just be someone for a bit of fun as some like Wayne Rooney could get really hurt.

“He’s not really a boxer, so if he got in the deep end too quickly, it could knock his confidence and he could get hurt.”