Former WWE NXT and AEW star Bobby Fish, best known as a pro wrestler, made his professional boxing debut as part of Sunday’s Floyd Mayweather card in Dubai — and it was a successful first foray into combat sports for Fish.
While Mayweather made easy work of social media celebrity Deji in the Global Titans card’s main event — another exhibition contest for “Money,” who competed under the RIZIN banner just a few months ago — Fish, 46, took on Boateng Agyemang Prempeh. A native of Ghana, Prempeh was 2-2 to start the night, and 16 years younger than the wrestler.
Despite Prempeh having the age and experience advantage, the fight came to an end in the second round, with Prempeh dropping to his knees following a trio of punches from Fish, who had engaged a Muay Thai clinch moments earlier.
While one blow appeared to just miss the back of the head, the initial left upstairs and a right to the body had Prempeh hurt. A shoulder injury was also singled out, but regardless, Prempeh did not answer the count.
WHAT HAPPENED THERE? 👀@theBobbyFish stops Boateng Prempeh in the second round! 🔥
🥊 #MayweatherDeji
🏟 Coca-Cola Arena
🇦🇪 Dubai, UAE
⏰ 10:00 PM LOCAL TIME
🎟 Tickets On Sale NOW!
📺 LIVE ON PPV pic.twitter.com/ucVKqkaYYa— Global Titans Fight Series (@GlobalTitansFS) November 13, 2022
It could be MMA next for Fish, who previously told MCW Backstage Pass that he’d inked a two-fight deal with Global Titans, with the option for something other than boxing.
“The next one, I would really like for it to be kickboxing or MMA because that’s what I’ve done. I’ve been doing martial arts since I was a kid and that’s what I love.”
Fish infamously challenged former UFC fighter/fellow AEW talent (for now) CM Punk to a mixed martial arts bout, after the two butted heads in the pro wrestling world.
On his Undisputed podcast, Fish put out an invitation to Punk to face him in the cage, and outlined just how he felt about Punk (real name Phil Brooks) as a pro fighter.
“Phil is not a bad pro wrestler, but what Phil is not, is a martial artist. I’ve been doing martial arts since I was eight years old, so I take a lot of pride in it. It’s something that I’ll do until the day I die,” Fish explained (h/t Fightful). “There are other people within pro wrestling, Bryan Danielson, Kyle O’Reilly, people that train, and they put that into their pro wrestling. You do that because pro wrestling is made up in a way that we get to bring a little piece of ourselves and add to it what we do because so many variables are controlled. You can paint with whatever color you want. Choose a color that you have in your toolbox.”
“If you don’t have blue, you’re not painting with blue. CM Punk is not a martial artist. He went on pay-per-view and showed the world that he’s not a martial artist,” Fish continued. “He is a pro wrestler. Go out, tackle, drop down, leapfrog, give it again. All good. In that lane, he has talent. When it comes to martial arts, you’re insulting the audience’s intelligence because we’re supposed to be creating an atmosphere where you suspend your disbelief. It’s insulting for you, as one of my co-workers or peers, as a martial artist, you’re asking me to go out and sell and put over your bunk-ass martial arts. It’s insulting to the audience, it’s an insult to me.”
