The days of Chuck Liddell being one of the best fighters in the world are long behind him. However he would be interested in returning for a celebrity boxing match, against two major NBA superstars.
This was a conversation that Liddell had recently, when speaking to Jimmy Smith on SiriusXM. Here the former UFC commentator asked the Hall of Famer if there are any celebrities that he would have fun fighting, as he is reffing this weekend’s celebrity boxing match between Aaron Carter and Lamar Odom.
At first, Chuck had a hard time coming up with an answer, simply because there are no celebrities that he dislikes that much. However he then admitted that it would be fun to fight some NBA legends like Shaquille O’Neal, or Charles Barkley.
“Yeah, Shaq would be a fun one, change it up and try to reach Shaq,” Liddell said.
“You gotta remember, one of my sparring partners for a long time was 6’10. So it’s not big, but I trained with Gan McGee for forever, and my brother is 6’4, 6’5, 300lb. But standing next to Shaq, Shaq’s a big man… I’m always around big guys, but Shaq’s one of those few guys you go up to and go ‘Damn, Shaq’s big.'”
“Maybe Charles Barkley,” Liddell added. “He challenged me to come back and beat him in a golf tournament again. I beat him in a Tahoe tournament. I was second to last, but I beat him. I pulled it out in the last hole and beat Charles Barkley.”
📽️ Which celebrity would @ChuckLiddell fight if he had the chance?
🥶 The 'Iceman' shared his response with @jimmysmithmma on Unlocking the Cage👊 pic.twitter.com/oMfpYQ56Fp
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) June 11, 2021
The Career Of Chuck Liddell
We could spend all day discussing the legacy that Chuck Liddell left behind in the sport of MMA. The former light heavyweight champion held the belt for two years, defending it four times before dropping it to Rampage Jackson in 2007.
From there, his career never quite recovered, going 1-5 before Dana White encouraged him to retire. While he agreed, the Iceman returned for an ill-fated trilogy against Tito Ortiz, getting knocked out quickly in the first round.
Nowadays Chuck Liddell is probably better off staying retired. Although if Shaq or Barkley are interested in celebrity boxing, they know who to call.
