Jamie Carragher has named Gary Neville as his preferred boxing opponent, vowing to “knock the f***” out of his Sky Sports colleague.
Carragher and Neville are a well-liked football punditry double act who have become known for their passionate viewpoints on the sport. Their affiliations with Liverpool and Manchester United respectively have led to numerous on-screen clashes, but things have never become overly-heated.
But could that be about to change? The idea of a boxing match between the duo was raised by Carragher during promotion for Chris Eubank Jr versus Liam Smith, which takes place at the AO Arena in Manchester on January 21.
Appearing in a TikTok clip for Boxxer, Carragher was asked for one footballer or ex-footballer he would like to fight. Without hesitation, he answered: “It would have to be Gary Neville – and I’d knock the f*** out of him!”
Judging by the replies, it would be a popular fight. “Make it happen,” wrote one fan. “I'd buy that for a dolla, get Eddie Hearn on it!!” added another. “Charity match right here! Get it on!” said one excited user.
The replies suggest people would back Carragher over the former Manchester United right-back. “He deffo would as well,” wrote one. “Gary couldn't box his way out of a paper bag,” joked another. One user did back Neville, though, saying: “Could see Gary doing him in tbh.”
At the time of writing, Neville has not responded to Carragher’s call-out. But during a recent segment on Sky Sports with Smith, they did discuss their boxing pedigree.
Neville and Carragher have trained in the same gym as super-middleweight Smith and the former United defender seemed confident that night, joking he would “do them both” in a fight.
Smith wasn’t so sure, picking Carragher as his winner. “I’ve done a charity spar. I’ve sparred Callum [Smith, English boxer],” Carragher told Sky Sports. “I had the toughest one. All four brothers took on people from the gym for charity. I threw that many punches just trying to survive. It was great.”
Carragher and Neville are supporting Smith in his fight against Eubank Jr next weekend. Smith defeated Anthony Fowler, Jessie Vargas and Hassan Mwakinyo last year and is confident of beating his next opponent.
"He’s making a big mistake fighting me," Smith said of Eubank Jr. "Every time he has stepped up to elite level, he has failed. I am elite and he will fall again.
"If he was at 60 per cent for the fight that never was against Conor Benn, then he’ll need to be at 160 per cent to be ready to face me, a former world champion, in front of thousands of my fans in the north-west. For Chris, this is a high-risk, low-reward. For me, it’s the perfect platform to show I will rule the world again in 2023."
