Before Getting Beat Up by a 72 Lb Lighter Charles Barkley, 7 ft Shaquille O’Neal Had Planned a Floyd Mayweather Move in 1999

Published 11/03/2022, 12:30 PM EDT

Shaquille O’Neal was not always the sweet and calm personality he is today. When you look back in time, you’ll notice that young Shaq was always full of rage and passion, ready to crush his opponents. Shaq and Charles Barkley’s friendship is nothing new in the NBA. What’s more interesting is that their friendship began with a violent rivalry. O’Neal recently revealed that he once wanted to pull a Floyd Mayweather move on Barkley in order to make a statement.

Back in 1999, things took a violent turn during the game between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers. When a 72-pound lighter Barkley threw the ball at Shaq’s head, the 7’1″ Shaq and 6’6″ Barkley clashed. What happens next? Shaq punched Barkley in the face. And he went for more, but everyone quickly came to separate the two.

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The audience witnesses their teammates’ and officials’ rumbling bodies as they try to separate Shaq. Today, Barkley and Shaq are two of the best friends in the NBA. And they can be seen discussing the incident several times.

Shaquille O’Neal punched Charles Barkley to defend himself

On October 28th, NBA on TNT aired a new episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq. At a point, the panel of Spice Adams, Shaquille O’Neal, and Nischelle Turner were discussing the Jordan Poole and Draymond Green incident. Shaq quoted the punch by Green as his signature punch. He said, “You know what’s great about the Draymond punch? That’s my signature punch.”

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Nischelle Turner got curious and asked, “Is it?” and Shaq replied “Oh yeah. Lean with it rock with it.” And O’Neal further explained how he wanted to hit Charles Barkley with a left punch and then go for a nuclear right punch to knock him down. Spice Adams asked “Why would you do that? You have a lot of respect for that guy.”

Shaq said, “The man hit me in the face with the ball”. And further added, “If I don’t do nothing, I’m ruined in the streets, I can’t go to no barber shops, I can’t trash talk to nobody.” And ended his statement by saying, “Gotta defend myself”. Adams and Turner seem convinced by the justification given by the Los Angeles Lakers legend.

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WATCH THIS STORY: 5 times Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal had heated fights on Inside The NBA

What are your thoughts on Shaq’s punch? Do tell us in the comment section below.

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Written by:

Ritesh Jha is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports. He is currently pursuing his Bachelor's in Technology in Computer Science from Rungta College. Ritesh worked as an intern content writer for a digital marketing agency called KCAS Branding before joining EssentiallySports.

Edited by:

Bagavathi Eswaran

Before Getting Beat Up by a 72 Lb Lighter Charles Barkley, 7 ft Shaquille O’Neal Had Planned a Floyd Mayweather Move in 1999

Shaquille O’Neal punched Charles Barkley to defend himself

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