Wayne Rooney was in a playful mood on the day of Paul Stretford’s wedding, jokingly offering out one of Great Britain’s greatest-ever boxers after a couple of drinks much to the groom’s anxiety
Aaron Morris Senior Sports Reporter
15:52, 24 Oct 2025
Wayne Rooney has spoken about his interesting interaction with Joe Calzaghe(Image: Catherine Ivill – AMA, Getty Images)
Wayne Rooney found himself in a scuffle with boxing legend Joe Calzaghe during Paul Stretford’s wedding.
As the Manchester United icon marks his 40th birthday, he joined Stretford, Tony Bellew and the BBC on the Wayne Rooney Show to share some of his most cherished memories. Following discussions about his stint under David Moyes at Everton and his initial meeting with boxing great Bellew, the chat quickly shifted to Rooney’s memorable exchange with another renowned fighter.
Stretford fondly remembered his wedding 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 added: “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.
Wayne Rooney was in a playful scuffle with Joe Calzaghe(Image: The Wayne Rooney Show / YouTube)
When Stretford shared his concern about a potential reaction from Calzaghe, 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 said: “But that’s Wayne, eh?” before Bellew agreed, saying: “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.”
Calzaghe retired in 2009 with an undefeated boxing record of 46-0, with 32 of his victories coming by knockout. He also holds the record for being the longest-reigning super-middleweight champion, successfully defending his title 21 times over nine years.
Joe Calzaghe will go down as one of the greatest boxers in history(Image: Getty Images)
In addition, he clinched The Ring’s light-heavyweight title in 2008 after a split-decision victory over Bernard Hopkins, and defended it later that year against Roy Jones Jr.
Meanwhile, Rooney has made it clear that he has no plans to step into the boxing ring anytime soon.
When asked if he’d 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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