Wayne Rooney threw punch at boxing icon at wedding after saying he could 'have' him

Wayne Rooney was involved in a playful altercation with Joe Calzaghe at Paul Stretford's wedding. As the Manchester United legend celebrates his 40th birthday, he sat down on with Stretford, Tony Bellew and the BBC to recount some of his fondest memories.

After discussing his time under David Moyes at Everton and how he first encountered boxing legend Bellew, the conversation swiftly turned to an encounter Rooney once had with another celebrated pugilist. Stretford recalled his wedding day with a grin as he said: "So I was looking after Joe at the time. So Joe came to the wedding, Wayne's there of course.

"And we've had a few drinks and he offers Joe Calzaghe out. I'm stood there talking to them both and he goes, 'Alright Joe.' 'Alright Wayne?' 'Could have you.'

"I'm looking and I'm thinking, 'You're joking me.' He's going, 'No, just calm down...I just want to do a bit of shadow boxing with him.' So we go out and we go onto the green outside where we were - middle of my wedding.

"So we go out and Joe's going, 'Don't worry, it's nothing.' So he goes out, first thing, so Joe's just sort of stood there. He's [Wayne's] in, to the ribs."

With a laugh and a touch of irony, Rooney then added: "I seen him, he was a bit vulnerable, he'd had a few drinks. Might give him his first defeat," referring to Calzaghe's remarkable unbeaten boxing career, which stretched from 1993 to 2008.

When Stretford shared his concern that Calzaghe might have reacted, Bellew responded: "As a fighter, they never react to stuff like that. But he's only just challenged the greatest fighter Britain's ever produced. Fantastic."

Stretford then said: "But that's Wayne, eh?" before Bellew added: "It is. He's lively and yeah, he's even more lively if he's had a pint - as most men are, to be honest, to be fair. We're all the same, we're all children who have never really grown up. And Wazza's one of the biggest children I've ever met."

Despite facing off against boxing legends such as Roy Jones Jr, Chris Eubank and Byron Mitchell during his illustrious career, Calzaghe retired in 2009 with an unbeaten record of 46-0, including 32 knockouts. He will also be remembered as the longest-reigning super-middleweight champion in history, having successfully defended his title 21 times over nine years.

In addition, he won The Ring's light-heavyweight title following a split-decision victory over Bernard Hopkins in 2008, defending it later that year against Jones Jr. Meanwhile, Rooney clarified that he has no intention of stepping into the boxing ring for a sanctioned bout anytime soon.

When asked if he's ever been tempted, he replied: "No, you get asked to go and do Misfits and all that. You look at Jake Paul and what he's done, he's a good boxer. KSI does well and whatever, but no. It's a bit of fun and mess around."