“Are They Desperate or Something”: Fans Disappointed After Joe Gallagher Announced as Head Coach of First Mike Tyson Boxing Club in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Boxing just made its way into another country. The chairman of Riyadh Season, Turki Al-Sheikh, announced Joe Gallagher will oversee the first-ever Mike Tyson boxing gym in Riyadh. The boxer-turned-coach is an award-winning trainer who has worked with the likes of Anthony Crolla, Scott Quigg, and Natasha Jonas. Riyadh will also host the highly anticipated matchup between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou on October 28. However, nobody anticipated the response the announcement received from fans.

The first-ever Mike Tyson boxing gym in Riyadh will be in operation starting next month. While Gallagher will manage the operations, fighters from Saudi can expect visits from Mike Tyson himself. Mike will share his valuable input with the gym and all the Saudi prospects trained in it. As good as that sounds, the boxing community is not happy with the decision of Joe as the Head Coach of the gym. In a recent X (Twitter) post, EverythingBoxing updated fans about the announcement.

Joe Gallagher as the Head Coach doesn’t sit well with the fans

After the tweet went live on X, fans quickly took to the comment section to express their discontent and disapproval. While some fans were confused and asked why, others pointed out there were far better options. However, the overall theme of the reaction remains one of disapproval.

One user insinuated that Saudis don’t know anything about boxing. Or else they would not have chosen Joe as the head of the gym. It’s important to note that despite investing in infrastructure to host boxing events, the country is new to the sport. The recent investment is part of their ongoing effort to promote boxing and entertainment in the kingdom.

Another user asked if the decision-makers are desperate to have a head coach for their new gym. The user’s not-so-subtle comment implies Joe is not a good coach despite receiving awards for it.

Someone else claimed Eddie Hearn and Sunny Edwards wouldn’t be so happy with the decision. Both Hearn and Sunny have had a falling out with the coach in the past, which means they could be jealous of the recent development in Joe’s career. 

Also Read: Natasha Jonas’ Trainer Says Katie Taylor Could Get Knocked Out Like Mike Tyson

Another fan doesn’t seem to be a big fan of Gallagher’s work, as he explained others deserved the opportunity.

While the majority of the comments were against Gallagher, this user wasn’t very cynical and congratulated the coach. However, the user politely claimed Gallagher is not a liked personality in boxing.

Regardless of the response from fans now, Gallagher is the head coach for the Mike Tyson gym. So, all anyone can do is watch what kind of boxing prospects Gallagher produces from Saudi.

But we want to hear from you – do you agree with these comments?

Watch This Story: Tyson Fury Remains Unfazed by Mike Tyson Training Francis Ngannou for Their Fight