Wayne Rooney has been reminiscing about some of his fondest memories as he celebrates his 40th birthday, including the time he challenged a boxing legend to a fight on the day of a friend’s wedding
Aaron Morris Senior Sports Reporter
15:03, 24 Oct 2025
Wayne Rooney had a playful scuffle with Joe Calzaghe(Image: Mondadori Portfolio, Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
Wayne Rooney found himself in a lighthearted scuffle with Joe Calzaghe at Paul Stretford’s wedding.
As the Old Trafford hero marks his 40th birthday, he joined Stretford, Tony Bellew and the BBC on the Wayne Rooney Show to share some of his most cherished recollections.
Following discussions about his stint under David Moyes at Everton and his initial encounter with boxing great Bellew, the chat quickly shifted to a memorable exchange Rooney once had with another celebrated fighter.
Stretford fondly remembered his big day, explaining: “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 laugh and a touch of irony, Rooney then said: “I seen him, he was a bit vulnerable, he’d had a few drinks. Might give him his first defeat,” referring to Calzaghe’s remarkable unblemished boxing record, which stretched from 1993 to 2008.
Joe Calzaghe will go down as one of the greatest boxers in history(Image: Getty Images)
When Stretford expressed shared concerns that Calzaghe might retaliate, Bellew responded: “As a fighter, they never react to stuff like that. But he’s only just challenged the greatest fighter Britain’s ever produced. Fantastic.”
Stretford then added: “But that’s Wayne, eh?” Bellew then said: “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 facing off against boxing greats such as Roy Jones Jr, Chris Eubank and Byron Mitchell during his illustrious career, Calzaghe hung up his gloves in 2009 with an unbeaten record of 46-0, including 32 knockouts.
Wayne Rooney spoke about the incident(Image: The Wayne Rooney Show / YouTube)
He will also go down in history as the longest-reigning super-middleweight champion, with 21 successful defences of his title over nine years.
He clinched The Ring’s light-heavyweight title following a split-decision victory over Bernard Hopkins in 2008, defending it later that year against Jones Jr.
Meanwhile, Rooney has clarified that he has no plans to step into the boxing ring for a professional bout anytime soon, as per the Mirror.
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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