{"id":5514,"date":"2017-06-16T17:32:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-16T21:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=5514"},"modified":"2017-06-16T17:32:00","modified_gmt":"2017-06-16T21:32:00","slug":"crossing-streams-boxing-pro-wrestling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2017\/06\/16\/crossing-streams-boxing-pro-wrestling\/","title":{"rendered":"TKO Outta Nowhere: 15 Boxer vs. Wrestler Matches"},"content":{"rendered":"

With yesterday’s official announcement that 5x multi-weight MMA Champion and UFC<\/strong> MegaStar\u00a0Conor McGregor<\/strong> would be facing 13x multi-weight boxing Champion (and MegaStar)\u00a0Floyd Mayweather Jr.<\/strong>, an absolute dream match became a realization. It will feature two of the best pound for pound fighters of the past 20 years in a boxing match and is sure to be one of combat sports’ biggest PPV buys of all time. And while most combat sports analysts are convinced this could be Conor McGregor’s version of CM Punk<\/strong> entering the world of UFC, there’s no denying it’s an absolute blockbuster of a fight.<\/p>\n

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Photo: WWE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fans love when athletes cross sports to interact with other top stars – it’s like seeing Batman<\/strong> and Spider-Man<\/strong> in the same universe. Seeing fighters from other arenas is always intriguing – after all, the entire basis of UFC’s success was seeing different fighting disciplines squaring off. And since pro wrestling is an art that often imitates life, it’s no stranger to having its brethren face off against pro boxers every once in a while. In fact, Floyd Mayweather Jr. himself has crossed over to the pro wrestling world, when he tangled with The Big Show\u00a0<\/strong>at\u00a0Wrestlemania XXIV<\/strong><\/em> in 2008.<\/p>\n

Here’s a look at some memorable match-ups from history that have featured a boxer vs. wrestler.<\/p>\n

#1 JACK JOHNSON vs. FRED MARCUSSEN, 1914<\/strong><\/h2>\n

(Exact date not known) Berlin, Germany<\/em><\/p>\n

There’s not a whole lot of details beyond this video, but back in 1914 at a fight in Berlin, then reigning World Heavyweight Champion boxer Jack Johnson<\/strong> of the US faced off against pro wrestler Fred Marcussen<\/strong> (many consider this the world’s first MMA fight, although more accurately is the first one ever filmed). While the history books remember Johnson as a formidable boxer in the ring and the first African-American heavyweight champion (beating Tommy Burns<\/strong> in 1908), not much is remembered of Marcussen. You’d think this film was only seen in Germany – imagine the impact it would have had in the United States if they’d seen their World Champion boxer tap out to a German wrestler.<\/p>\n