Paddy Kenny is stepping into the boxing ring for a charity bout next month and wants a crack at Wayne Rooney next.
The former Sheffield United, Queens Park Rangers and Leeds goalkeeper is on a card on October 18 featuring a number of former footballers.
The 47-year-old takes on Curtis Davies, former Arsenal and Tottenham man David Bentley boxes Jody Morris and Swansea hero Lee Trundle fights Anthony Gardner, among other bouts.
Kenny has long retired from football, last playing a professional match in the 2014/15 season, but he has relished the opportunity to get his fitness levels up again.
‘It’s for four amazing charities,’ Kenny told Boxing Social of the Pro Project event. ‘For eight weeks now I’ve been training, been doing boxing for four or five weeks and in that time I’ve lost over two stone, which is a massive thing.
‘That was one of the reasons I wanted to get involved, get myself back into shape.
‘It’s for amazing charities, it’s going to be an amazing event down in London, I’m really looking forward to it.’
Kenny will have his hands full with former Aston Villa, West Brom and Hull City defender Davies, but he wants a higher profile opponent if he straps the gloves on again.
The ex-goalkeeper wouldn’t mind a scrap with Rooney and there is a reason he would choose the Manchester United and England hero.
Kenny was in goal for QPR on that famous day in May 2012 when Mark Hughes’ side travelled north to face Manchester City.
Roberto Mancini’s side needed victory to ensure they won the Premier League title on the final day of the season and didn’t seem likely to have a problem at home to Rangers.
However, heading into injury time QPR led 2-1, only for Sergio Aguero to score twice at the death to secure the victory and the Premier League title, leaving Rooney’s Manchester United heartbroken.
Kenny says the former forward has not let him forget about it ever since and wouldn’t mind the chance to end the beef in the ring.
Asked which footballer he’d most like to box, Kenny said: ‘Probably Wayne Rooney because he keeps hammering me about that Aguero goal, so I think me and him need to sort it out in the ring.
’13 years on he’s still saying I let the goals in! It might have looked like I let them in but I didn’t!’
Rooney revealed last year that promoters Misfits Boxing had contacted him about the possibility of him fighting on one of their cards and did not rule it out, but said his focus at the time was football management.
‘They’ve been in touch and asked the question but I think at the minute I want to focus on getting back into management, not boxing,’ he said on The Overlap last year, before taking over as Plymouth Argyle boss.
‘There’s been a few [offers] and obviously Misfits have been in and that’s been all over the news. But listen I want to focus on getting back into management, that’s my focus.’
Rooney left Plymouth, his most recent job in management, in December.
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