Charles Barkey attended the Power Slap 6 event in February this year, held at the Durango Casino in Las Vegas. Power Slap is a slap-fighting competition owned by UFC CEO Dana White, which has been gaining immense popularity over the years. During his visit to the event, Barkley was asked by popular UFC reporter Nina Marie Danielle which colleague he would be willing to face in a Power Slap competition.
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The Philadelphia 76ers legend immediately dismissed the idea of ever fighting fellow TNT analyst, Shaquille O’Neal. Instead, he seemed open to fighting Kenny Smith, whom he described as ‘soft.’ Later on, the Chuckster provided Nina his reasons for not fighting Shaq. “I won’t fight Shaq, Shaq too big! But I’ll have a slap contest with Kenny because Kenny’s soft,” said Barkley. Furthermore, Chuck confirmed that Kenny Smith was aware of being soft.
Giving reasons behind his reluctance in fighting Shaq, Chuck told Nina, “I can’t fight Shaq, he’s just too big…Shaq is big and ugly and pretty strong too!”
“Big and ugly, that’s a different type of power. Shaq has that type of power. He’s big and ugly, that’s a deadly combination,” the Chuckster added.
Barkley’s statement to Nina from February seems more like him backtracking from his earlier challenge to Shaq, made in December of last year. During the Inside Show’s preview of the Suns vs. Lakers IST quarterfinal game, Chuck openly challenged the Big Fella for a slap-off contest and even agreed to go first in the contest.
Seems like Barkley is now intimidated by the idea after realizing the sheer damage Shaq could inflict on him with his size and strength. However, if fans are interested in seeing Chuck and Shaq fight, they can easily find it on YouTube. The NBA on TNT duo had a brutal brawl during their playing days, which even prompted their mothers to intervene for peace negotiations.
Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley share a relationship filled with wholesome banter
Since Shaq and Barkley became co-analysts with TNT, they have developed a wholesome relationship of fun and banter. Every episode is filled with both Hall-of-Famers trying to roast each other or even pulling the most hilarious pranks that define their remarkable relationship.
Have a look at the video above, in which Chuck jokingly punches Shaq on his chest and tries to run away. Shaq takes all such gestures as harmless fun while not shying away from pranking or pulling the craziest antics on Barkley whenever feasible.
There have also been instances where Shaq and Chuck have wrestled each other in the TNT studio. Nevertheless, if there indeed were an event where Barkley took on Shaq, it would definitely end up selling tickets and amassing viewers beyond one’s comprehension.
