You can take the combat sports out of the carnival, but you can’t take the carnival out of the combat sports.
No word on whether the funnel cake will be offered, but this Friday night in West Virginia one of the most unusual competitors in the world of combat sports will return. No, I’m not talking about Danny Bonaduce and his claim to fame as the toughest kid on ’70s family TV. And I don’t think we’ll see Vanilla Ice back in the ring anytime soon. But former Oakland Athletics legend and home run king José Canseco is returning to the boxing ring for his final challenge.
Canseco established his celebrity by fighting for the first time in 2008, with an amateur boxing match against former NFL running back and broadcast commentator Vai Sikahema (a fight that Sikahema won). But, ‘Natural’ really made his fisticuffs reputation a year later, when he took the first, and only, professional MMA fight of his sports career. Canseco fought against the 7 ‘2 ”giant Hong Man Choi in Dream 9, losing in just 1:17 seconds, by technical knockout, in one of David / Goliath’s most comical pairs. Altogether, Canseco entered the ring five times between celebrity boxing matches and mixed martial arts. The last of them being against the famous winemaker Tareq Salahi in 2011.
It is never too late for a return, however, and at the well-preserved age of 56, Canseco is ready to face Barstool’s Pardon My Take podcast intern ‘Billy Football’ at the main event of the media company Rough n ‘Rowdy 13 amateur boxing event this Friday night at PPV. The boxing match is apparently the result of a longstanding dispute between one of the podcast’s hosts, Dan Katz, and Canseco – after the podcaster said he would fight Canseco on behalf of MLB’s dishonored teammate Alex Rodriguez in 2018.
Being a “coward” himself, however, Katz found a champion to fight for him. One of the show’s interns, who recently spoke with TMZ about the whole event.
“They should take me seriously, because first of all I am an athlete,” explained Football to the tabloid. “I got into this extremely seriously. The battleground was rigorous to a degree that, you know, the kind of training I had never done before. But with that, it will be – why should you take me seriously? It’s because I’m a competitor. I love to compete. And, to be honest, they just saw my fun side in Pardon My Take, where I’m hanging out with my friends and guests, and shooting in the trash. But I have a very, very competitive side that will be out on Friday night.
“I think I’m going to shock Jose. I think José misjudged me. And many people would. They don’t really know who I am and what I can, more or less, accomplish. So, it will be a lot of fun to shock the world. You know, show everyone that, ‘Oh hey, this guy is real! This is not just a shit show that was played together. “
The 22-year-old explained that his actual boxing training was “very little” because he only had a month to prepare for the fight. But, he feels he used the time well to get in good condition and get used to being in the ring.
“I am extremely confident in this fight,” explained Football. “I am not at all concerned about the difference in weight. Something I learned in boxing is that having big muscles and a lot of mass over you, and having strength does not help anything in the ring. The power of the punch does not translate; your bench press does not translate into punch strength. I am ready to enter here. I think I’m going to shock the world. I’m excited.”
Canseco is expected to enter the ring at around 270 pounds, while his opponent will weigh close to 225. PPV will cost $ 19.99 and is available at roughnrowdybrawl.com.