GALLAGHER VS. WILLIAMS:
WILL BRITPOP EARLS DUKE IT OUT?
Apparently tired of sparring with brother Noel, Oasis lead vocalist Liam Gallagher is allegedly considering taking up a challenge to box pop singer/songwriter Robbie Williams.
Gallagher and Williams have mixed it up verbally for some time, and the possibility of the two UK stars stepping into the ring—for charity, of course—has promoters putting down their scones and picking up their phones.
Williams issued the dare at last week’s Brit Awards, where he snagged trophies for Best British Single and Best Video (both for his track “She’s the One”). “We’ll get in a ring and we’ll have a fight and you can all watch it on TV,” the vocalist proclaimed from the podium. He then thanked Jesus, the Prince of Peace, for giving him so much talent.
He suggested the two prospective combatants put $175,000 in a kitty and that the winner select the charity to receive the money. Williams’ more substantial bulk—Gallagher has publicly derided him as “a fat dancer”—has prompted oddsmakers to dub him a 2-1 favorite.
Gallagher, in Japan when the gauntlet was thrown down, has not yet responded to the offer.
Promoter and ex-World Welterweight champ Lloyd Honeyghan has offered to broker the bout, despite the British Board of Boxing’s explicit refusal to authorize any such contest. “I’ve drawn up a contract,” Honeyghan informed Reuters, adding that he’d visited Williams at home to discuss the matter. “I’ve never seen someone want to fight so bad,” he declared. “It’s up to Liam.”
Observers have been quick to point out that the stakes would be higher if the two would-be pugilists had more teeth.
