Could Tony Ferguson be meeting an old foe he first stared across from 10 years ago?
Ferguson made headlines this past Saturday after picking up his first combat sports victory since 2019. After his UFC run came to an end, “El Cucuy” transitioned to the sweet science, taking on Salt Papi at Misfits Boxing 22. Ferguson scored a third-round TKO win over Salt Papi to become the MFB interim middleweight champion.
On an episode of the “Weighing In” podcast, Josh Thomson discussed the possibility of facing Ferguson inside the boxing ring (h/t Bloody Elbow).
“I mean, yeah. Possibly,” Thomson said. “It’s boxing. I think people should understand that boxing, it’s a lot easier to train. It’s so different. It’s just a lot easier to train for. A lot of jumping rope, a lot of bag work, a lot of running, it’s a lot of road work…”
Ferguson and Thomson collided under the UFC banner back in 2015. “El Cucuy” won the fight via unanimous decision. Thomson has admitted that it was a rough fight to get through and said it was a reality check for him.
One decade later, Thomson might be swayed into dabbling in the world of boxing against his old foe.
“Maybe that’s a conversation we have,” Thomson said. “I have a relationship with Misfits Boxing. There’s been some conversations anyways with them about other fights, but, ultimately, it really just comes down to the cream rises to the top and who do I wanna fight [and] if we can get the pay right…”
Thomson hasn’t competed in prizefighting since Feb. 2017 when he was knocked out by Patricky “Pitbull” Freire. He announced his retirement in early 2020. Fight fans have seen the likes of Frankie Edgar end their combat sports retirement in favor of the sweet science, albeit “The Answer” will be fighting under bare-knuckle rules.