“F*ck With Your Sport…”: Former Opponent Who Handed Sean O’Malley His Only Loss, Reacts to the Bantamweight Champ Calling Gervonta Davis Out for a Fight

Following his remarkable second-round TKO victory over Aljamain Sterling, the recently crowned bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has become the most talked about fighter. Garnering praise and congratulations from the biggest names in sports and entertainment, like Joe Rogan, Kevin Durant, and Snoop Dogg, O’Malley’s star power is undoubtedly growing. However, just moments after winning, contenders started poking the newly crowned champion for his intentions to fight boxing star Gervonta Davis.

Even boxing star Ryan Garcia mocked O’Malley for showing interest in fighting Davis. O’Malley’s archnemesis, bantamweight contender Marlon Vera, the fighter who handed O’Malley his only loss in the octagon, has also hopped on the bandwagon. Vera has now stepped forward to engage in the ongoing discussions surrounding the bantamweight champion’s next potential fight.

Marlon Vera on O’Malley’s potential boxing match

Marlon Vera, who is coming off a big win over Pedro Munhoz at UFC 292, recently appeared on the FIGHT SZN PODCAST and talked about O’Malley’s potential move to fight Davis next. During the podcast, Vera was asked about O’Malley’s expressed interest in facing Davis. In his response, Vera stated, “I mean, that’s a big bag of cash, you know? Yeah, okay, I mean, but this is truly from sports.”

Vera drew parallels between O’Malley’s potential boxing match and the hypothetical scenario of a Jiu-Jitsu expert challenging the best in their field or a swimmer challenging Michael Phelps. “Let’s not get it wrong. I mean, it’s like me calling out, you know, who the best Jiu-Jitsu guys in the world are and be like, ‘Come on MF’er, I’m gonna choke you.’ I mean, that doesn’t happen like that, you know?.” said Vera.

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The bantamweight contender highlighted the absurdity of such challenges, arguing that champions are renowned for excelling in their specific domains and said, “You’re the best at your sport, f*ck with your sport if you want to challenge yourself, that’s fine. But you don’t call Michael (Phelps) and say, ‘Come on, bi*ch, I’m gonna swim faster than you.’ It’s not going to happen like that, yeah, yeah.”

Vera also gave his own explanation for engaging in a scenario similar to O’Malley’s, wherein he would consider fighting a top athlete from another sporting domain.

Marlon Vera’s take on cross-sports fighting

Vera talked about Conor McGregor and his move of appearing in the boxing ring against Floyd Mayweather.

“Look at Conor, even now, what it was, didn’t really have to fight anymore, but it’s what you want in life,” Vera continued, “You want legacy, you want something like GSP, like Anderson Silva, like Jon Jones, or you just want to be very, very famous.”

Vera highlighted that regardless of the path taken, fighters will make money, but he places a higher value on championships within his domain and competing against real opponents. “In both ways, you will get money, but I… I value a little more the real championship of the real career and the real opponents in front of you, “ said Vera.

Although O’Malley called out Vera after his win in the octagon, the champion now has changed his stance on fighting Vera. The Bantamweight champion recently warned Vera to approach their rematch with respect, or else he will defend his title against someone like Henry Cejudo.

Boxing or MMA? Where do you want to see Sean O’Malley next? Comment below.

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