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“It Wasn’t Funny”: Anthony Taylor Clarifying Outrageous Statement Doesn’t Sit Well With Boxing World

Published 05/11/2023, 6:04 PM EDT

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Thirty-three-year-old mixed-martial-artist and boxer Anthony ‘Pretty Boy’ Taylor will fight YouTuber and TikToker Salt Papi on Saturday, May 13. The three-round bout is one of the fights scheduled during the Misfit Boxings’ X Series 007. But, of course, the event highlight is the match between KSI and Joe Fournier. A video where Taylor sought a contest with one of the most well-respected names in boxing has been going viral.

The two-minute video released by iFL TV yesterday shows ‘Pretty Boy’ Taylor approaching former unified Cruiserweight champion and WBA Heavyweight title holder David Haye. The former could be seen checking for an exhibition match. But a smiling Haye responded, “Definitely not.” When Taylor asked for a reason, the former champion gave age as the reason for declining the offer. Though the American persisted, the Briton refused to budge from his stand.

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A tweet by iFL TV has already reached viral proportions with over 300k views. So early morning today, ‘Pretty Boy’ Taylor clarified the incident and said, “Relax people, I would never fight @davidhaye  just being funny and friendly, and there is Notting but respect for that legend.” Though his message has received only three responses, their disposition was easy to gauge.

Now that’s not a fight you’d want, Mr. Anthony ‘Pretty Boy’ Taylor

User Liam McManus seemed clear that what ‘Pretty Boy’ Taylor mentioned could hardly be considered funny.

User Nathan V lamented that though Taylor can deny challenging David Haye, he did bother Floyd Mayweather Jr. for a match once.

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He quickly received a response from  Anthony ‘Pretty Boy’ Taylor, who told him that the weight class differed between him and Haye. The latter used to fight in the Heavyweight division.

User Jabocb Ney appreciated the way Taylor promoted himself. He said no one else could match him by words or deeds. Ney also mentioned looking forward to his upcoming clash with Salt Papi. The duo would be fighting during the MF & DAZN: X Series 007 on May 13.

User Son, who describes himself as a YouTuber/Editor, instead wanted Anthony ‘Pretty Boy’ Taylor to follow him as he’d been doing so for some time!

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The American hasn’t had much luck in professional boxing, losing three of the five matches he fought thus far. Even in exhibition fights, it’s been a mixed bag of results for him. He won only one out of the last three he participated in. So it remains to be seen how he fares against a social media influencer who gained fame for knocking out professional MMA fighter Josh Brueckner during the X Series 004 on January 14.

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What’s your take on reactions? Do let us know your views and thoughts in the comments section below.

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Written by:

Jaideep R Unnithan

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Jaideep Unnithan is a Boxing writer at EssentiallySports. With over 400 articles authored at ES, Jaideep has built a reputation for diving deep into stories and producing detailed reports. Jaideep's passion for the sport of boxing was ignited when his father shared his experience of watching Ali vs Frazier live in the US.
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Edited by:

Arijit Saha