Getty Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman battle in the third round of their WBA welterweight title fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena on July 20, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A recently retired UFC champion is angling for a massive boxing fight with a star. On Monday, ESPN confirmed that Henry “Triple C” Cejudo had officially vacated his UFC bantamweight title. He was also removed from the UFC rankings on Sunday.
On May 9, Cejudo defended his bantamweight title for the first time when he defeated Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. During his post-fight interview with color commentator Joe Rogan, Triple C announced that he was retiring from mixed martial arts. However, it appears that Cejudo is not finished with combat sports.
Cejudo has been hyping up a boxing bout with WBC Silver lightweight champion Ryan Garcia. The two have been trading verbal jabs on social media since Triple C’s retirement speech at UFC 249.
It all started on May 11 when Garcia tweeted: “You think @HenryCejudo would give me a good fight in the boxing ring?”
Cejudo responded: “Get the hell out of here you Oscar De La Hoya wannabe. I’d make you bend the knee in your own sport! @danawhite Allow me to fry this fish!”
The two have continued to throw insults at each other, and most recently, Cejudo said that he would put Garcia in a “body bag.”
On Saturday, Cejudo tweeted, “It will only take one of [my] punches to put this @OscarDeLaHoya wannabe in a body bag. #facts.” The tweet came in response to a video Garcia posted of himself showing off his lightning-quick speed.
It will only take one of punches to put this @OscarDeLaHoya wannabe in a body bag. #facts
Cejudo has never had a professional boxing match in his career, but he has claimed many times that he is the greatest combat sports athlete of all time. Cejudo has won a belt in two different UFC weight classes, as well as an Olympic gold medal in wrestling.
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Cejudo’s Manager Is Also Trying to Make a Bout Happen Between the 2 Men
Triple C’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, is also trying to set up a boxing match between his client and Garcia. On Sunday, Abdelaziz tweeted: “I’m going to send triple C @HenryCejudo To kidnap this little boy Put him in the trunk of a car and Put him in a boxing ring And teaching fighting Listen.”
The video Abdelaziz responded to was posted by No. 2 ranked UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou. He was showing off his speed alongside Garcia with the caption, “Heavyweight power with lightweight speed.”
It’s unclear if the two parties have formally spoken about a match.
Both Athletes Have Impressive Records in Their Own Sport
Cejudo and Garcia have both had very impressive careers in their own sport. Garcia, 21, is currently undefeated at 20-0 with 17 knockouts and is viewed by many analysts as a young prodigy.
Cejudo, 33, retired from mixed martial arts with a 16-2 record. Eight of his wins came via knockout and eight by decision.
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