KSI has claimed Wayne Rooney messaged him in the early hours of the morning to pitch a boxing fight.
The Manchester United legend last week confirmed that KSI’s promotion had been in touch over a possible bout in the near future.
Rooney claimed that ‘a few’ had been in touch to try and get him to swap the football pitch for the ring after his sacking by Birmingham City on January 2.
KSI, the YouTuber-turned-boxer, claimed on Happy Punch that Rooney had previously attempted to instigate talks over a fight in the early hours of the morning.
‘Alright, I’ve got it, 5th of December, 2022 at 3.50am,’ KSI said.
Former England captain Wayne Rooney reportedly text KSI in the early hours of the morning
KSI claimed Rooney had text him at nearly 4am to pitch a blockbuster stadium boxing fight
‘[Rooney text] Hi mate, what you think on me and you having a boxing fight. I think we could generate a lot of money. You up for it.’
‘No question mark, just full stop. He’s not asking.
Rooney reportedly continued ‘We could sell out stadium with right support and both make good money.’
Manchester United’s record goalscorer would have been DC United boss at the time of the text, having managed the MLS side from July 2022 to October 2023.
Rooney, who is set to make his FA Cup debut as a pundit on Wednesday, joined Birmingham City last October but was sacked in January after a miserable run of form.
The former England captain has refused to rule out a boxing match in the future, after being approached by Misfits, but stressed management is his priority.
Asked by Gary Neville on the Stick to Football podcast if he was going to fight, Rooney teased fans. ‘Never know,’ he said.
‘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 has admitted Misfits Boxing had been ‘in touch’ and teased that you ‘never know’ what might happen
KSI has featured in several fights since the YouTuber began to move into the boxing scene
‘They’ve been in touch to fight, yeah. There’s been a few and obviously that Misfits have been in [touch] and that’s been all over the news.’
‘Listen, I want to focus on getting back into management. That’s my focus. And I’ve seen all over the last couple of days all the headlines but my main focus is getting back in to football.
Rooney had been responding to a clip of boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, who has previously revealed the football legend has text him in the past about potential fights.
Since its launch in 2022, Misfits has welcomed a smorgasbord of celebrities and would-be stars.
Internet sensations such as KSI, Logan Paul, and Jay Swingler, music stars like Ashley and Myles from Rak-Su, and a host of other personalities have competed.
Streamed on DAZN, it attracts millions of pay-per-view fans and has visited venues across England and the United States.
Rooney, a well known boxing fan, would hope do better if he makes his boxing debut than when was famously knocked out by then United team-mate Phil Bardsley.
The two players were sparring in Rooney’s kitchen and Bardsley caught the striker, knocking him to the floor. A video later appeared showing the knockdown and the story made national news.
KSI helped to establish Misfits Boxing in 2022 and it has grown into a major promotion
Rooney performed a boxing celebration after being famously knocked out by team-mate Phil Bardsley
Rooney then performed an iconic celebration referencing the incident as he mimicked being knocked out when he scored against Tottenham at Old Trafford days later.
Bardsley recalled the hilarious moment on the UTD Podcast in 2021. ‘We were having a drink, having a laugh, playing guitar and the next minute these boxing gloves appear! I was thinking: ‘what’s going on here?’
‘So my brother steps up, has a go with Wazza and obviously he loves his boxing, doesn’t he? He loves scrapping. And then I’m like: ‘give us them, I’ll have a go’.
‘He’s throwing a few bombs and obviously he’s a big lad, isn’t he? Strong. We’re exchanging blows – the Crocky [Croxteth] kid and the Salford kid, there’s no holding back!
‘He just walked into a jab. He was only out for a couple of seconds but we were all panicking – what’s going on here?
‘We didn’t know what to do, panic stations and we had no phone signal. ‘We were all thinking: “if he doesn’t open his eyes, we can’t phone an ambulance, there’s no signal.” So much panic!
‘Anyway, he comes around, goes to the sink. I’ve got a big cut lip, blood everywhere and he’s got some blood under his nose and we’re just looking at each other and laughing.’