5 famous boxers who have fought inside a pro wrestling ring
When WWE changed its outlook from being a wrestling federation to that of a sports entertainment federation, one knew that the writing was on the wall for some famous industry alliances. From Hollywood to the NFL and show business to other sports, the WWE has managed to do plenty of cross-over programs over the years.
One such sport that bears a very similar setup the WWE is boxing.
For as long as the sports of pro wrestling and boxing have co-existed, there have been big name crossovers from fisticuffs to wrestling. The fanbase has plenty of shared ground; love from the dramatic and the bombastic, as well as high-octane action.
Right from the pioneering days of both sports and featuring literally the biggest stars ever to have graced the game, there is a colorful history of rivalry and combat.
Below we take a look at some of the most infamous moments in the history of battles between wrestlers and boxers.
#5 Mike Tyson
“Iron” Mike Tyson is one of the most feared and revered boxers of all time. At the peak of his prowess, he was ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ and Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the world. After his ear-biting controversy in the second loss to Evander Holyfield, he was out of action for the whole of 1998.
In that time, though, he featured as an enforcer in the Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin bout at WrestleMania XIV, and ultimately turned on Michaels and popped him in the nose. Since then Tyson has since returned to Monday Night Raw on January 11, 2010. Tyson teamed up with Chris Jericho against Shawn Michaels and Triple H.
During this episode of RAW, he made things right with D-X when he knocked out his tag team partner, which allowed D-X to win the match, make up with Michaels and return to good terms with D-Generation X. There was the talk of a continued comeback that never quite materialized, but he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Tyson's initial tryst with the WWE was during the peak of the Attitude era and he was officiating a red hot feud. The fact that all the parties involved which included HBK, Stone Cold and Tyson were totally unpredictable in nature made the feud such a legendary one.
Tyson ripping open his T Shirt to reveal that he was a DX member only to doublecross the faction later on is a stuff of legend.
#4 Joe Louis
The longest reigning heavyweight champion, Joe Louis, entered professional wrestling after his boxing career had ended, mostly due to money problems.
Louis was a legend in his own sport and culturally broke down many boundaries, so his crossover helped the audiences to merge. Louis started out wrestling, but a heart problem caused him to retire from action, though he stayed in a refereeing capacity for over 16 years after his wrestling debut.