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WWE has been on a roll lately, despite what Vince McMahon says. Old Vinny Mac is reported by Sean Ross Sapp as saying that WWE had plateaued in recent months, something that recent figures contradict heavily. Ever since the Royal Rumble back in January, the company has hosted record-breaking event after record-breaking event, month after month.
2023 is set to follow in 2022’s footsteps as being one of the most successful years in company history. With the likes of John Cena and The Rock returning in recent weeks, further success is set to follow. Another sport that has been thriving as of late is the world of boxing.
Throughout 2023, there's been a plethora of blockbuster fights, none bigger than Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence Jr., a bout which the former won in decisive fashion to become the first undisputed welterweight champion of the four-belt era.
In the coming months, more huge matchups are on the horizon. Tyson Fury will battle it out with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou, while websites providing odds on Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo have made the Mexican sensation the 1/4 favourite to retain his Undisputed Super Middleweight World Championship in their clash.
With both realms on the top of their game lately, we started thinking, what are some of the biggest boxing/WWE crossovers? Let’s take a look.
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Heading into WrestleMania XIV in 1998, WWE was the talk of both the sports and entertainment worlds. That's because they had brokered a deal with former world heavyweight boxing champion Iron Mike Tyson to feature on WWE TV. He immediately embarked upon a feud with 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and joined D-Generation-X alongside Shawn Michaels and Triple H.
That year's WrestleMania was poised to become the most significant in the history of professional wrestling, with Tyson's involvement a huge factor in that. Austin would challenge Michaels for the WWF (now WWE) Championship in the main event, with Iron Mike appointed as the special enforcer.
At the end of a back-and-forth encounter, the challenger would hit the Stone Cold Stunner on Michaels and with the referee down, Tyson would shockingly count the one, two, three, turning his back on Michaels and crowning Austin as the new champion.
Following his sensational knockout victory over Britain's Ricky Hatton in December 2007, Floyd Mayweather announced his retirement from professional boxing. Barely two months later, he showed up on WWE TV at the No Way Out pay-per-view, coming to the defence of Rey Mysterio who was being brutalised by the Big Show. He would legitimately break the seven-foot giant's nose, sending him into a rage and setting up a bout between the pair at WrestleMania XXIV two months later.
Despite being hated by the majority of sports fans the world over, Mayweather was the fan favourite for this contest due to the size difference between the pair, which made 'Money' come across as the underdog. The five-weight world boxing champion would get the victory at the Showcase of the Immortals after nailing Show with a pair of brass knuckles. The bout between the two was - and remains - one of the best celebrity cross-over bouts in WWE history.
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