The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Miocic calls out boxing heavyweight champ
The announcement of the crossover boxing match between UFC champ Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. surely caused a buzz for sports fans on June 14.
It also fired up the UFC heavyweight champion, who wants to join McGregor and cross over into boxing the same night.
Eastlake North graduate Stipe Miocic went to Twitter shortly after the McGregor-Mayweather bout was announced for Aug. 26, asking for a chance to take on boxing’s heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
“Hey @anthonyfjoshua let’s have a proper tussle and still have time for tea and crumpets before the main event! #MayweatherMcGregor,” Miocic tweeted on June 14.
The tweet might have seemed innocent enough, but Miocic spoke about wanting to fight Joshua in May, telling The MMA Hour, “Let’s do it.”
“I think I’d surprise a lot of people,” said Miocic. “I think it’d be an amazing fight.
“He’s a tough guy. He’s the best in the world, but I’m a pretty tough guy, too.”
Miocic is 34, and Joshua is 27. Both are top of their respective sport’s division by showing great punching power.
Miocic has knocked out four straight opponents in Round 1, including his last bout vs. Junior dos Santos in May.
Joshua is 19-0 with 19 knockouts. He owns the WBA, IBO and IBF heavyweight boxing belts after knocking out Wladimir Klitschko in April.
Miocic’s coach Marcus Marinelli recently told The News-Herald he and his fighter are all in for a bout vs. Joshua.
“I like the idea, and I don’t think it would be a bad thing,” said Marinelli. “It would be a huge payday for Stipe, and I think he would be very competitive.”