Shaquille O’Neal’s affinity for combat sports is quite well known. The big man never misses a chance to be ring side. And, while at the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul exhibition bout on Friday night, he alluded to a fight that could happen between him and NFL legend Rob Gronkowski, who also promised a good beating. Dwight Howard, whose beef with O’Neal is stuff of lores, immediately threw in his hat. He wants a piece of Shaq as well.
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Howard took to social media to call the Lakers legend out. “Shaq wassup, let’s make some bread,” said Howard, adding a boxing glove emoji into the message. Now, that’s a loud hint: Howard wants to ‘square up’ with Shaq.
Shaq wassup let’s make bread
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) November 16, 2024
Howard was also highlighting the huge interest a fight between him and Shaq would attract. Indeed, that would earn them “bread”. The Jake-Tyson bout had shattered the gate revenue record for a boxing bout in Vegas. Dwight probably believes Shaq and him would do better, becoming a few million dollars richer in the process. Why not?
If the two were to fight, the betting lines are likely to favor Howard, who is in a vastly better physical shape. In fact, Howard has been claiming that he can still be a presence in the NBA. Recently, he had called out the OKC Thunder following Chet Holmgren’s injury. Howard wanted the OKC front office to sign him to the roster, sit back, and see the difference he makes.
“OKC, your boy is ready. What’s happenin? Y’all need a big. Y’all need a vet. Y’all need somebody who’s gonna bring the energy,” Howard had said on KG Certified.
O’Neal, on the other hand, is carrying a few extra pounds as compared to his playing days. But he is also the man who has been calling himself the most dominant for a long time, dating back to his time in the NBA. That physical confidence remains with him.
Shaq, at the moment, is committed to a showdown with his “friend” Gronk though.
He got a nice “I’m ready to fight your a**” reply from the NFL legend when he threw in the idea of a fight.
At least in the ‘NBA vs NFL’ bout, both the fighters have expressed their keenness to square up. In the potential bout within the NBA — the Howard vs O’Neal one — Shaq is yet to respond.
O’Neal’s response to Dwight hinges on how or what he feels toward him. It’s no secret the two share a contentious relationship. However, if Shaq truly does want to settle his ‘beef’ with Howard, perhaps boxing is the right sport.
O’Neal and Dwight Howard have been at a war of words for years
Evidently, Shaq and Dwight do not like each other. At the very least, Dwight doesn’t fully understand why Shaq isn’t fond of him, he claims, justifying his verbal retaliation.
The ‘Superman’ gimmick that Dwight adopted from Shaq was perhaps the starting point of why they never meshed.
The year was 2008. When Howard appeared wearing a Superman shirt and a red cape at the NBA Slam Dunk Contest that year, he was possibly trying to unseat Shaq as the resident Clark Kent of the NBA. O’Neal had originally adopted the DC Comics hero as his persona. And he was always possessive about it.
Shaq, in his response at the time, made it loud and clear that he wants to be the one and only NBA star with the ‘S’ figure on his chest.
Since then, their to-and-fro has been raging with Dwight publicly stating on many occasions that he doesn’t understand the issue Shaq has with him. Howard even called ‘cap’ on the 4x champ claiming he tried to reach out to Dwight, stating that never happeneed.
O’Neal’s perspective, the one he shared on the Old Man and the Three podcast, doesn’t align with his previous statements against Dwight. He had said he likes Dwight and the criticism was his way of joking around. Shaq even implied that he understands Dwight is a sensitive man.
Whether Shaq really meant it or not is up for debate. And that debate can be settled in the ring if Shaq decides to take Howard’s invite seriously.
