Wayne Rooney has revealed that he once told Mike Tyson to stop punching him in the ribs as they dined together in Manchester. The former England striker is a huge boxing fan, having trained as a youngster before starting his career as a professional footballer. His father ran a boxing gym in Croxteth, the Liverpool suburb he grew up in while playing for Everton’s academy.

Given his boxing background, Rooney was awestruck when he got the opportunity to dine with Iron Mike several years ago. However, the heavyweight icon was a little too heavy-handed for Rooney’s liking. He recalled an interesting story during an episode of his BBC podcast, explaining how he intervened to stop Tyson from hitting him at the table.

“I was lucky enough to meet him,” began Rooney. “I went for food with him in Manchester. I was just in awe of him really. You see him and his presence. You could still see that edge was there.

“As I was sat there, he leaned back and he was hitting me in the ribs. In the end, I’m sitting there eating my food and I’m like: ‘Okay mate, okay mate, leave it there now’.

“He was with a girl and I can remember he just leaned over me, got his fork, picked the steak up and put it on this other plate and ate her steak. I was just like: ‘Stay out of it’.”

Joe Egan, who was Tyson’s sparring partner at the height of his career, previously revealed the pair’s eagerness to meet up back in the mid-2000s.

He told The Sun: “Rooney, in particular, was one of the stars Mike wanted to meet because he had so much admiration for Wayne, so when Mike was over for an after-dinner speech in the UK about more than 15 years ago, in Manchester, I was with him.

“The table that had been reserved for the team was given to the Carrington training ground staff because the team was stuck in traffic after an away match. But on another table there was Wayne’s wife, Coleen, and her family.

“Mike had prepared a presentation for Wayne, but he presented it to Coleen’s brother – Wayne’s brother-in-law – instead. Mike imparted a bit of advice and gave him some inside knowledge for when you’re a rising superstar.

“Wayne really appreciated his concern. Mike had a lot of respect and admiration for Wayne because he knew the pressure on his young shoulders at the time.

“Although Wayne and the United team didn’t make it to the event, I introduced him to Mike in a restaurant in Manchester called Lounge Ten later that night.

“This place has a high profile clientele and a pedigree of attracting the region’s celebrities including A-list sports stars. A friend of Wayne’s and Mike’s owned this restaurant who hosted a private intimate dinner for Mike.

“Wayne was over the moon to meet Mike and Mike was over the moon to meet Wayne. An ex-boxer himself, Wayne loves and follows the sport of boxing and he’s a very good fighter himself.”

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