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When you’re going toe-to-toe with another person in a boxing match, you have to get in their head a little bit. To do this, a lot of boxers will trash-talk their opponent to get them rattled, but sometimes it goes too far. Some boxers have gotten incredibly personal prior to their match, and at times, it cost them dearly. 

Let’s take a look at five historic boxing matches that had a lot of verbal barbs that were exchanged, taking things to a personal level and making the matches even more hyped.

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather

No boxing match has had as much hype as the 2015 bout between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. While the fight itself would ultimately be a disappointment for most fans, the lead-up was anything but boring. The two came in as the best of their generation, and both were trading personal jabs in the countless press conferences before the match.

Mayweather had said that Pacquiao was only fighting lower boxers for easier wins and padding his record while Mayweather was taking on the top names. Pacquaio’s camp said that Mayweather was shady and avoided the fight between the two while adding that Mayweather’s father was a terrible cornerman. Mayweather would win, and the two have been talking about a rematch ever since.

Muhammad Ali vs. Anyone

If you were to ask any person on the street to name the first boxer that comes to mind, the answer is probably going to be Muhammad Ali. Ali was known not only for being a great fighter, but also one of the best trash talkers in human history. For him, every match was personal and he wanted to let his opponents know just how personal it was.

There were many matches where some people felt that Ali took things a little too far, including bouts against George Foreman and Joe Frazier. Perhaps the one that got it the worst was Sonny Liston. Prior to their controversial fight in 1964, Ali went all-in on the trash talk. There were some memorable lines which included “He’s too ugly to be world champion. The world champ should be pretty like me!”

Dereck Chisora and David Haye

There are many boxing matches where the fighters had traditional trash talk to try and get inside of their opponents’ heads, but then there are matches where the two sides absolutely hated each other. That was the case between Dereck Chisora and David Haye in their match in 2012. Chisora had just defeated Vitali Klitschko after making it personal between the two, and the extracurriculars spilled into his rivalry with Haye.

Haye was at the press conference for the Chisora-Klitschko fight and Haye had challenged Klitschko to a match. Chisora, as the winner, took it personally and started to call Haye an embarrassment to the sport. The two would get into it several times before and after their fight, and at one point, Chisora threatened to shoot Haye. Haye would end up winning the match in the fifth round via technical knockout.

Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant

In just about every sport, there’s a big rivalry between the United States and Mexico, and that even translates into individual sports. In 2021, Mexican legend Canelo Alvarez defeated American Caleb Plant via a technical knockout in the 11th round in Las Vegas. The lead-up to the match was filled with controversy as the two seemed ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

Alvarez is usually calmer in demeanor, but Plant was relentless in his trash talk, with Alvarez saying that the match was personal after hearing all of it. During their press conference two months before the match, the two got into a fistfight that left both of them bloodied, while Alvarez said Plant was taking performance-enhancing drugs.

Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield

One of the most famous matches of all time came when Mike Tyson bit off the ear of Evander Holyfield. At the time, no match had ever been quite as hyped-up, and Holyfield would come out on top. Holyfield remained calm, cool, and collected in the lead-up to the match, but that wasn’t the case for Tyson.

The two have since become friendly, especially as Tyson has calmed down and dwelled upon his past. “He never said nothing bad to me,” Tyson said. “I said miserable things to him.” Holyfield never got rattled, though. “I said, ‘You’ve got to understand, Mike’s younger than me. Mike really don’t know. So I’m not angry. I’ve got nothing to say about it,’” Holyfield said.

There are plenty of sports that are lucrative and offer nine-figure contracts. Think of basketball and baseball where those types of contracts get handed out like candy. However, those contracts typically last around a decade before the full amount of money is paid to the athlete. Then, you have boxing, which can pay you over $100 million for a single fight if the demand is high enough.

Not every big time boxer is going to get to that level of making hundreds of millions in the ring, but that’s just fine. There are other ways for a boxer to get into business ventures that pad their net worth massively. Here are five boxers who made some serious money outside the ring using their star status to get ahead.

5. Floyd Mayweather

No boxer in the sport’s history has had bigger in-ring payouts than the undefeated champion Floyd Mayweather. For just his one fight against Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather earned $180 million, and he has amassed a net worth of around $450 million over the years. Obviously, not all of that is from his in-ring payouts, as Mayweather has been able to earn plenty of cash from his star status.

Mayweather not only has his own promotion company, but he also runs a gentleman’s club, a roller skating rink, and even a racing team. Of course, Mayweather’s businesses are all based out of Las Vegas, where he’s had some of his biggest matches.

4. Conor McGregor

It might be cheating just a bit to add Conor McGregor to the list since he’s mostly known for his time in mixed martial arts, but McGregor has gotten into the ring as a boxer, as well. Of course, his lone professional match in a boxing ring came against the previously mentioned Floyd Mayweather, with Mayweather winning the bout via technical knockout in the 10th round. McGregor has a net worth of $200 million, and has been able to market himself brilliantly.

McGregor has a ton of endorsements that include Beats by Dre, Reebok and Bud Light. On top of that, McGregor has made a lot of money from the Irish whiskey brand Proper No. Twelve. McGregor had a majority stake in the whiskey, selling it to Proximo Spirits in 2021 for a cool $150 million.

3. Vitali Klitschko

Vitali Klitschko isn’t the richest boxer in the world, but he certainly has a comfortable net worth at nearly $100 million. Klitschko was one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all-time before he retired, winning 15 different matches with the world heavyweight title on the line. Once he retired, Klitschko stayed in the public eye while getting into politics, though it isn’t his time as mayor that made him super wealthy.

Klitschko runs his own investment firm called Klitschko Ventures, which has earned him millions more over the years. “My experience has shown me that I can achieve more with good partners by my side and reach my goal more quickly,” Klitschko said. “That is why I live according to this principle and let others share my knowledge.”

2. Oscar De La Hoya

If you ask any casual fan to naem a handful of boxers off the top of their head, and there’s a good chance that they would mention Oscar De La Hoya. If you were to then ask them to mention their favorite match of his, they likely wouldn’t be able to tell you. That’s because “The Golden Boy” has been able to establish a great post-boxing career for himself, and now has a net worth of $170 million.

De La Hoya launched several business ventures following his fighting career, including his own Golden Boy Promotions that kept some of his money in the sport. Other investments for De La Hoya include the fast food chain BurgerFi, an ownership stake in Major League Soccer and even a tequila brand. 

1. George Foreman

Of course, you can’t talk about boxers that have made big money outside of the ring without mentioning the great George Foreman. Foreman was a tremendous boxer who won 76 of his 81 professional fights, earning himself multiple heavyweight championships. Foreman became an entrepreneur following his fighting career, and amassed a net worth of $300 million.

Much of that money came from the George Foreman Grill, which was actually invented by Michael Boehm and Robert Johnson. Foreman attached his name and likeness to the product, though, earning him a massive amount of the revenue. After more than 100 million grills were sold, the rights to the product earned Foreman nearly $140 million.

There are plenty of rivalries in college football, but there are certain ones that just mean more. One of those great in-state rivalries that garners national attention every year is the one between Michigan and Michigan State. Though Michigan considered Ohio State their biggest rival, there’s no doubt that MSU considers Michigan to be their number one target. Over the years, the two have had some memorable matchups, with these five being the best games in the programs’ rivalry.

5. Clockgate (2001)

One of the most controversial games in the history between Michigan and Michigan State happened in 2001 when the heavily-favored Wolverines traveled to East Lansing to take on the 3-2 Spartans. The game ended up being closer than people thought, with the score being tied at 17 entering the final quarter.

MSU quarterback Jeff Smoker spiked the ball with one second on the clock to give the Spartans one more chance, despite Michigan players and fans believing that the time had run out. On the final play of the game, Smoker connected with T.J. Duckett to win the game 26-24 in a game that’s still talked about to this day.

4. KW3’s Comeback (2021)

Nobody expected much out of Michigan State in the 2021 season after they finished a paltry 2-5 during the COVID-19-affected 2020 campaign. The Spartans stormed out of the gates, however, and started the season 7-0, including wins over Miami and Nebraska. Meanwhile, Michigan had high hopes and a #6 ranking after starting their season 7-0 as well.

The 2021 matchup started off strong for the Wolverines, who jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, and went into the locker room with a 23-14 advantage. After the third, the score was 30-22 in favor of the Wolverines, but Kenneth Walker III and Michigan State roared back in a big way, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 5:08 left, winning 37-33.

3. Number One Goes Down (1990)

During the 1990 season, the Wolverines and Spartans were the top two teams in the Big Ten Conference, and they both came to play on October 13 of that year. Michigan State had lost close games to Notre Dame and Iowa heading into the matchup while also tying with Syracuse in the season opener.

Meanwhile, the Wolverines had just one loss, which was also against the top-ranked Fighting Irish. After three quarters in their 1990 matchup, Michigan and Michigan State were tied at 14-14, but both teams scored two touchdowns each in the fourth quarter. Michigan scored with just six seconds left on the clock, and instead of attempting the extra point to force a tie game, they went for the two-point conversion. They failed, however, in a controversial fashion, giving the Spartans a 28-27 win.

2. Triple OT Thriller (2004)

Very rarely does the Michigan-Michigan State annual game go into overtime, but there were back-to-back years in which it happened. The first of which was the only multi-overtime game of the series, with the Wolverines and Spartans needing three overtimes to decide a winner in 2004. Michigan entered the game at #12 in the rankings while Michigan State was struggling at 4-3.

Michigan State took a commanding 17-point lead with 8:43 remaining in the game, but the Wolverines stormed back, scoring 17 unanswered points in less than six minutes. This forced three overtimes, with the Wolverines scoring a touchdown and getting the two-point conversion, keeping the Spartans out of the end zone for a 45-37 win.

1. Trouble With the Snap (2015)

The worst word that a Michigan football fan can hear is “Whoa,” because they immediately think of the following words “he has trouble with the snap.” This is, of course, in reference to the 2015 Michigan-Michigan State showdown at the Big House in front of a sold-out crowd. The Wolverines came into the game with a 5-0 record and were #12 in the polls while Michigan State was also 5-0 and ranked in the top five of the coaches poll.

Michigan entered the fourth quarter with a 20-14 lead and were hanging on to a 23-21 lead with just a couple of seconds left on the clock. All Michigan had to do was cleanly punt the ball away and the time would run out on the Spartans’ perfect season. Instead, punter Blake O’Neill couldn’t hand on to the snap and Jalen Watts-Jackson of Michigan State picked it up and took it into the end zone “on the last play of the game! Unbelievable!” 

The Detroit Lions haven’t had a whole lot of success in the NFL Draft, which is why the team has gone for so long without a championship. However, there have still been some great steals and smart picks that the team has made over the years. Here are the five best Detroit Lions draft picks of all time.

5. Lem Barney (34th Overall, 1967)

The Detroit Lions held the seventh overall selection in the 1967 NFL/AFL Draft and used it to take running back Mel Farr from UCLA. Farr ended up being a solid selection for the franchise, but it wasn’t until the second round that they really found a star. With the 34th overall selection, the Lions drafted little-known cornerback Lem Barney from Jackson State, who went on to become one of the biggest steals of the draft.

Barney played for 11 NFL seasons, all with the Lions, and made the Pro Bowl seven times while also garnering All-Pro honors twice. The All-1960s team member finished with 56 career interceptions and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.

4. Calvin Johnson (2nd Overall, 2007)

Coming into the 2007 NFL Draft, almost everyone knew that the Oakland Raiders were going to take quarterback JaMarcus Russell with the number one pick, which turned out to be a huge bust. The big question was what the Lions would do with the second overall pick, with many thinking that they’d skip the receiver position after getting burned so many times by busts. However, the Lions did roll the dice on another receiver in the form of Georgia Tech star Calvin Johnson.

The man known as “Megatron” may have retired when he was only 30 years old, but he enjoyed one of the finest careers for a wide receiver in NFL history. He set a record for single-season yardage in 2012 with 1,964 yards and finished his career with 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns. The three-time All-Pro was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.

3. Alex Karras (10th Overall, 1958)

The first nine picks of the 1958 NFL Draft were dominated by three teams, with the Cardinals, Rams, and 49ers all having two selections. After San Francisco took Jim Pace and Charlie Krueger with back-to-back picks, the Lions selected defensive tackle Alex Karras from Iowa. Karras, who was also known for his role on the sitcom “Webster”, would be the first eventual Hall of Famer drafted in 1958.

The man known as the Mad Duck played all 12 of his NFL seasons with the Lions and was named an All-Pro three times, as well as a Pro Bowler on four occasions. Despite missing a season due to a gambling suspension, Karras was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame with 100 career sacks.

2. Barry Sanders (3rd Overall, 1989)

The 1989 NFL Draft saw the Dallas Cowboys land their franchise quarterback when they selected Troy Aikman out of UCLA with the first overall pick. After the Packers took eventual bust Tony Mandarich with the second overall selection, the Lions were on the board. Despite running back not being a huge position of need, the Lions saw a once-in-a-lifetime player with Barry Sanders out of Oklahoma State and made him the third overall choice.

Sanders not only proved to be one of the best players in that year’s draft but also proved to be one of the greatest NFL players of all time. Sanders was a 10-time All-Pro, winning a slew of other awards that include a pair of AP Offensive Player of the Year honors. All in all, he rushed for 15,269 yards and 99 touchdowns while adding nearly 3,000 receiving yards.

1. Joe Schmidt (86th Overall, 1953)

For the top pick, we have to go further back than any other draft selection on the list. During the 1953 NFL Draft, there were some solid players taken early on, and the Lions picked up a pair of eventual Pro Bowl players. However, with the final pick in the seventh round, they drafted a Hall of Fame talent in the form of Pittsburgh linebacker Joe Schmidt.

Schmidt played all 13 of his NFL seasons with Detroit and was a dominant force on defense. He was named to the All-Pro team on nine occasions and finished in the top five of MVP voting twice. Schmidt was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the 1973 class and helped the Lions to win two NFL Championships, including the franchise’s most recent title in 1957.

The Detroit Tigers have one of the longest histories in all of Major League Baseball, with the franchise joining the American League of Baseball in 1901. Since then, the team has called the Motor City their home and since 2000 has played downtown at Comerica Park.

Throughout the years, the Tigers have had a long list of amazing talent, with strong representation in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Out of the many men that have worn the old English ‘D,’ though, which ones are the best of all time? Here are our picks for the top five Tigers in franchise history.

5. Alan Trammell

Alan Trammell isn’t just one of the greatest Detroit Tigers of all time, but he’s also one of the most beloved. A fan favorite during his time, Trammell is routinely coming back to Comerica Park to take in the sights and sounds with the franchise that made him a star. Trammell was a second-round draft selection by the Tigers in 1976, and he made his debut the following season.

Trammell played in 20 MLB seasons, all of which came in Detroit, between 1977 and 1996. During that time, Trammell posted a career batting average of .285 while hitting 185 home runs and knocking in over 1,000 runs. Trammell was named to six All-Star Teams while also winning four Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers, helping the Tigers win the 1984 World Series.

4. Lou Whitaker

You can’t talk about Alan Trammell without mentioning Lou Whitaker, with the two being teammates throughout almost their entire careers and best of friends. Whitaker was taken by the Tigers in the 1975 MLB Draft and made his debut in the same season as Trammell. The two were teammates all the way through the 1995 season, with Trammell playing just one more year than Sweet Lou.

Whitaker finished his 19-year-long career in Detroit with a .276 batting average, 244 home runs, and 1,084 runs batted in. Like Trammell, Whitaker also won his fair share of awards, including three Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers. Whitaker was named the 1978 Rookie of the Year and was selected to five All-Star Teams.

3. Charlie Gehringer

Charlie Gehringer was a Michigan man through and through, growing up in Fowlerville, Michigan, and attending the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Gehringer was signed by the Detroit Tigers after college and made his MLB debut in 1924. Though it would take a couple of years until he became a full-time player, Gehringer stuck around Detroit through his entire 19-year career.

Gehringer played all the way up to 1942, finishing his career with a .320 batting average and 184 home runs. He also knocked in 1,427 runs and won the league’s Most Valuable Player Award in 1937. The Hall of Famer won the 1935 World Series with the Tigers and was named to six All-Star Teams during his illustrious career.

2. Al Kaline

Every franchise has that certain player that’s nicknamed “Mr. ___”, and for the Detroit Tigers, that someone is Al Kaline. Kaline was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, but came to Detroit at 18 years old to start his professional career with the Tigers in 1953. The end result would be a 22-year career that was entirely spent in the Motor City, all the way through the 1974 season.

During that time, Kaline was named to the All-Star Team a whopping 18 times and was given the Gold Glove Award in 10 different seasons. Kaline achieved the milestone of going over 3,000 career hits with the Tigers and came up just one home run short of 400. In 1980, Kaline was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1. Ty Cobb

Though his personal life was highly controversial, there’s no doubt that Ty Cobb was one of the best hitters in baseball history. In 1905, Cobb made his professional debut with the Tigers, and The Georgia Peach would spend 22 of his 24 MLB seasons in Detroit. Cobb had a record-setting .366 career batting average and knocked out 117 home runs.

At the time of his retirement, nobody in Major League history had more hits than Cobb, either. Of his 4,189 career hits, 3,900 of those came with Detroit. The one-time MVP had a total of 151.5 wins above replacement (WAR), which is still good enough for sixth all-time ahead of the likes of Hank Aaron, Roger Clemens and Stan Musial.

There are few thrills in life that are quite as exciting as winning a big sports bet that not many other people saw coming. No matter the sport, it’s always fun to win, but especially when you win big. In a handful of cases, some bets that have been as low as $50 have turned into seven figures and cracking the code of the sports betting world. Here are five of those times when bettors defied the odds and won more than anyone else.

Anonymous ($1.13 Million)

Parlays can be a cheap way to have a lot of fun, and those of us who live in places where sports betting is legal to have often thrown a couple of dollars at one. Have you ever felt like you could turn $50 into more than $1.1 million, though?

That’s what one bettor did in November 2021 through the BetMGM app, and it wasn’t just a two or three-game parlay, either. He placed his $50 on a 15-game parlay across several different sports. The parlay got off to a good start when the Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL won, and the 15th game had the Baltimore Ravens winning straight-up. They did just that, earning the anonymous bettor over $1.1 million.

James Adducci ($1.2 Million)

Imagine winning over $1.2 million on your very first sports bet. That’s what happened to Wisconsin native Jim Adducci during the 2019 Masters when he placed an $85,000 bet on Tiger Woods to win his first major in several years.

Woods, who was actually a massive longshot at the time due to injury and near-retirement, ended up shocking the world by winning the green jacket. He also made Adducci a wealthy man, which was good because he had to sell his Amazon stock to get out of debt and make the wager.

Dave Oancea ($2.5 Million)

Saline, Michigan is a long, long way from Las Vegas, but Dave Oancea has become so ingrained with Sin City that he’s now known as Vegas Dave. Oancea has made a career off of betting on sporting events in Las Vegas, and in 2015, he became a household name across the nation thanks to the World Series run of the Kansas City Royals.

The Royals came into the season as a pretty big longshot to win it all at 30-to-1. The man who grew up rooting for the Chicago Cubs quickly changed his allegiance for just one year, as he placed over $83,000 on the Royals to win it all. When they got to the World Series, Vegas Dave started showing up to games with a Royals jersey on, and the team didn’t disappoint as they earned him $2.5 million in the largest futures win in American history.

Billy Walters ($3.5 Million)

In the world of gambling, there are few names that are quite as well-known as Billy Walters. Walters was born and raised in Kentucky but has spent much of his adult life making bets in Las Vegas. Because of his success, it’s estimated that Walters has accumulated a net worth of over $100 million, with almost all of it coming from betting.

There have been a handful of instances in which Walters has won seven figures from a singular sports bet, including more than $2 million for a 2007 football game between USC and Michigan. However, his biggest win came during Super Bowl XLIV when he put all of his confidence in the New Orleans Saints to win their first championship. The bet paid off as the Saints defeated the Colts, earning Walters a cool $3.5 million.

Mattress Mack ($75 Million)

In the Houston, Texas area, everyone knows the name Jim McIngvale, though they simply refer to him as Mattress Mack. McIngvale owns the Gallery Furniture chain of stores in the metro area, and has become a local legend over the years. Not only is he known for his stores, but he’s also known for putting huge money on sports betting to hedge his funds from the massive sales that he does every year.

In 2022, Mattress Mack put up the largest bet ever on a mobile phone, placing $4.5 million on the Cincinnati Bengals to win Super Bowl LVI. The team would end up losing, but McIngvale has had a much, much bigger win. In the same year, McIngvale placed a large wager prior to the 2022 MLB season for the local Houston Astros to win the World Series. The team ran through the playoffs rather easily, and Mattress Mack took home an ultimate payout of $75 million, the highest payout in sports betting history.

The idea of sports betting is exciting for a lot of people. Not only is there the opportunity to possibly strike it rich when your favorite team wins, but the thrill of knowing that your money is on the line for up to four hours (and maybe even an entire season) can make games much more interesting. There’s that type of gratification that you get from sports betting that instant win tickets or slot machines just can’t give.

If you live in an area that has recently legalized sports betting or are new to the idea of it in an area that has already had it, you don’t want to blindly throw money into it and expect to win. There are a lot of mistakes that new sports bettors make, and these five are the biggest betting mistakes that are all too common.

Betting on Favorite Teams

In almost every instance, someone that’s a rookie to sports betting will place a wager on their favorite team. It’s certainly enticing to want to put some big bucks on your favorite team to win, but you know more about that team than you do any other team. Let’s say for instance that you’re a fan of Duke basketball, and they’re playing a random opponent like Kansas State.

Most Duke fans won’t know much about Kansas State if anything at all. If you don’t know both teams, then it’s probably a good idea to not place a wager. It’s fun to bet on your favorite teams to win, but experts say that you’re better off placing a bet on your team to lose. Consider this hedging your emotions, as you’ll still be happy that your team won, and you’ll receive money if they lose, making it more of a win-win.

Getting Parlay-Happy

Sports betting agencies make more money off of rookies betting on parlays than they know what to do with. There are some people that walk in with $5, $10, or $20, and place a parlay bet on every single NFL game that’s happening that week. The reason for this is that if you hit all of those games, then that $5 can turn into tens of thousands by the time Sunday is over.

However, most parlays are sucker bets, plain and simple. The reason that the payouts are so amazing is that the odds are astronomically high. You may see an article about someone that won $1 million from a $5 bet because they hit a massive parlay, but just know that you have a better chance of winning the slot jackpot.

Not Considering Win-Loss Percentage

A lot of people that are new to sports betting don’t realize that you can lose a lot of your bets and still make money. People get discouraged when they lose a few times, but even the best betters in the world lose countless amounts of their wagers. In fact, the math shows that if you place the same bets with the same payouts every time, you only need to win 52.4 percent of your bets to be profitable.

If you can get anything higher than that number, then you start to rake in some big money. 55 percent is considered to be a solid line for sports betting, with some of the top bettors hitting around two-thirds. If that happens, you might be teetering into the territory of making a career out of sports betting.

Betting Too Many Lines

We just alluded to how you need to continue to make bets and simply get above 52.4 percent to make money, but you still need to pace yourself. There are a lot of rookie bettors that end up making more than a dozen bets in one sitting, and that can deplete your bank roll quickly.

If you don’t know what you’re doing just yet, betting too many lines in one day can be devastating if it ends up being a bad day. Take it easy at first and only bet one or two lines per day. Once you start to get the hang of things, you can start to increase your amount of wagers until you’re a pro.

Not Following Trends

Rookies bet with their hearts way more than they bet with their brains. There are a lot of statistics available at your disposal no matter what level of bettor you are, and it’s important to use those stats.

Take a look at the trends, where the money is going, and how teams are doing against the spread. These are just the basics, with more advanced analytics showing you exactly where your money should be going.