To make it in this world, you have to take big swings. Boxer Dominic Barry is doing just that. The 31-year-old slugger is coming off a dominant knockout victory over Louis Villalpando, bringing his record to 7-0-1. Barry’s KO was so impressive that it even caught the eye of NBA legend, Shaquille O’Neal.
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The punch that Barry handed the win in the Villalpando fight was the definition of a haymaker. It marked not just his 7th victory, but the 7th victory by knockout. That’s exactly the type of momentum one needs to gain some traction. Fortunately, now he’ll be able to continue his pursuits with a little bit of money in his pocket.
That’s because O’Neal, who loves combat sports, had a meeting with Barry recently. This was documented and released on Barry’s YouTube channel, where it shows The Diesel in one of his giving moods. He made a generous donation to Dominic’s family because he believes in his future, and he’s a good papa.
“I’m on Instagram all the time, and you, you’re a great daddy,” stated the four-time NBA Champion. “I wanna support. You told me how much you need, so Galaxy is going to give you $10,000, and I’m gonna give you $10,000. And then I owe you $5,000 for the knockout.”
Shaq later joked about signing Barry’s 6-year-old daughter to a shoe deal with Reebok. “Think about it, okay,” he told the child. All kidding aside, there is a good chance that O’Neal does dish out a shoe deal, but to the girl’s father. He’s already got fellow boxer Shakur Stevenson on his Reebok roster, so bringing in another powerhouse like Barry may help the brand grow even more.
Shaq has a deep connection to combat sports, including MMA
You know Shaquille O’Neal’s famous meme that shows him claiming that he was ‘unfamiliar with someone’s game?’ Well, you may use that next time when you hear the NBA Hall of Famer speak about combat sports, particularly MMA. That’s because the four-time champion has a deep knowledge of all things UFC.
Don’t believe me? Shaq spoke about his affinity for mixed martial arts during an interview with Ariel Helwani from back in 2020. When asked for his favorite fighter, Shaq didn’t just name-drop popular fighters who were on top at the time, like Francis Ngannou or Conor McGregor. He gave shout-outs to MMA legends like Tank Abbott and Westley “Cabbage” Correira, who paved the way.
“Good thing about MMA is every three four years you get a person that just comes out of nowhere and takes over the sport. I just enjoy watching these phenomenal athletes perform,” O’Neal told Helwani on ESPN.
Helwani later got Shaq to share a story about something he told UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier after DC suffered a big loss. “Sometimes you win ’em, sometimes you lose ’em, but you’re still the champ to me,” Shaq recalled. That’s very on brand for the big guy. Despite all of his silliness, Shaq does have a way with words and knows how to hype people up when they need to hear it.
It just goes to show you that Shaq helping out Barry isn’t just because he’s trying to ride a trend. He has a good read on people and is willing to bet all the horses on them. Whether he finds big success or not, Barry has already won, because Shaq has endorsed him.
