LONDON – Paul Daley reveals he almost laced up the boxing gloves, but rejected the offer.
Daley (23-18-2 MMA, 9-5 BMMA) meets Wendell Giacomo (9-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) Friday at OVO Arena Wembley in London, where he plans on making his final walk.
But prior to this fight booking, Daley says he was offered a boxing match against ex-UFC welterweight title challenger Dan Hardy, but opted not to take it out of respect to their prior relationship growing up. Hardy will be boxing Diego Sanchez instead in an eight, two-minute round exhibition boxing bout on July 2 at AO Arena in Manchester, England.
“I had an offer to fight Dan, and I’m not even sure if Dan knows, but I have email proof and text proof that I was offered a very lucrative opportunity to fight a former teammate,” Daley told MMA Junkie Wednesday at Bellator 281 media day. “But I wouldn’t do that because although me and Dan aren’t as close as we were, at this stage when we started out in the sport, we kind of grew together to a certain stage and it’s like even though you grow apart, you still have that bond.”
He continued, “Realistically, I don’t see the money or the type of names I would fight being thrown my way so this is gonna be my final fight.”
A name that would have been of interest to Daley for a boxing match is former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, who defeated him in July 2011 under the Strikeforce banner. Daley says he actually asked Woodley to box him, but Woodley declined.
“I messaged Tyron directly after he got knocked out by Jake Paul and he declined to take a fight so that he would get a rematch with Jake Paul,” Daley said. “I messaged him directly and he responded. He doesn’t want the fight.”
Paul Daley explains why he turned down ‘very lucrative opportunity’ to box Dan Hardy
