Tyson Fury Photo: IC

British heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury has shocked the boxing world by swapping the "sweet science" for the "squared circle" of the WWE.

It has been announced that the Englishman, whose last fight was against Otto Wallin in Las Vegas, will take to the ring to wrestle Braun Strowman on October 31 in Saudi Arabia.

There has been shock and ridicule at the news, not least because Fury needed stitches after his win over German boxer Tom Schwarz and has only recently had them removed.

His own promoter Frank Warren has claimed ignorance over the whole affair while heavyweight division rival Deontay Wilder, who has been linked with a rematch with Fury as soon as February next year, has ­branded the move "hilarious" and "laughable."

Fury might be laughing all the way to the bank with his foray into the WWE - he is even threatening to fight again depending on how his Strowman bout goes - and he is certainly not the first star of professional sport to be in on the joke.

These are some of the other memorable times pro-athletes have jumped into the ring to wrestle.

Tim Wiese

You may as well start with the man who gave it all up to go pro. The goalkeeper was a Germany international and turned out for Bundesliga sides Kaiserslautern, Werder Bremen and Hoffenheim during his playing days before apparently binning it all for the WWE. He made his debut in a fight with Sheamus and Cesaro to defeat The Shining Boys and Bo Dallas in Munich in November 2016.  

LaVar, Lonzo and LaMelo Ball

The newly signed Los Angeles Laker was invited to the WWE soon after being drafted in 2017 and he took his brothers along for the ride. Much like Ball's pro-hoops career, his time on WWE Raw with The Miz was dominated by his family's shoe line, Big Baller Brand. And much like people fear for his career, where he has since moved to New Orleans to play for the Pelicans, nothing came of the early threats.  

Rob Gronkowski



The New England Patriots tight end joined up with real-life friend and WWE superstar Mojo Rawley to help the wrestler out at Wrestlemania 33 in Orlando. "Gronk" came into the ring to take on wrestler Jinder Mahal and help shift the Andre the Giant Memorial Trophy bout towards Rawley. Gronkowski renewed his feud since.

Floyd Mayweather Jr

The man with the enviable 50-0-0 record as a professional boxer has also kept his unbeaten status when he steps into the ring for other reasons. That meant beating UFC star Conor McGregor when the pair touched gloves in 2017 and it meant the same when he fought Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in Tokyo last New Year's Eve. Why would the WWE be any different? "Money" fought wrestler The Big Show in a "No Disqualification" match at Wrestlemania in 2008 and won using brass knuckles.

Shaquille O'Neal



A longtime guest on the WWE, there are those who are disappointed by Big Shaq's failure to take on the Big Show, despite teasing fights on three separate occasions. These fans have been impressed by his skills as a guest host, though.

William Perry

The man that they called "The Refrigerator" on account of his incredible size, Perry was a Super Bowl winner with the Chicago Bears in 1985 when he was drawn into what was then called the WWF. 

It was Wrestlemania II when Perry, several other NFL players and the biggest wrestlers of the day went in for a Battle Royale in front of a partisan crowd in Chicago. 

Perry was beaten by Big John Studd before faking the wrestler out with the offer of a hand before hauling him out of the ring. "The Fridge" has since bee inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Ronda Rousey

The UFC superstar swapped the Octagon for the wrestling ring in 2015 for Wrestlemania 31 where she came to the rescue of WWE superstar turned Hollywood leading man The Rock against WWE royalty Stephanie McMahon and husband Triple H. 

After several appearances at WWE events between 2014 and 2017, Rousey signed to the WWE full time in 2018, quickly becoming champion of RAW and while she is currently on hiatus from the promotion, her return to the ring has been promised.

Lawrence Taylor



One of the biggest character's in the NFL, "LT" took just as few prisoners as he did in the ring as he did on the football field. Taylor was in the main event at WrestleMania XI in 1995, against WWE superstar Bam Bam Bigelow, and turned the tide of the fight to overcome the pro. 

The NFL Hall of Famer also featured in the film Any Given Sunday.

Mike Tyson



Fury follows in the footsteps of Iron Mike Tyson in heading to the WWE. Tyson did so in 1998 at Wrestlemania XIV, where he was the "special enforcer" in a title match between "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels. The Brooklyn boxer turned to Austin's side, helping with the count to win the match and then "knocking out" Michaels after the bell.

Wayne Rooney

The former England captain had got into a "feud" with wrestler and Preston North End fan Bad News Barrett in the months leading up to the WWE coming to Manchester, home of Rooney's club side. Sure enough "Wazza" was ringside with his son and when Barrett came to share some bad news, the former Everton striker slapped the wrestler across the face.  

Muhammad Ali

"The Greatest" was at Madison Square Garden in 1985 at the very first Wrestlemania as a guest referee but his association with wrestling predated the WWE entirely with Ali taking to the ring to take on wrestling legend Gorilla Monsoon in the 1970s.

Ricky Hatton

"The Hitman" became the second man with that moniker in the WWE after Brett Hart when he joined up in 2009 to be guest host on WWE RAW. Hatton took on wrestler Chavo Guerrero and looked to be likely to finish on the losing side before a massive right hand from the boxer settled the bout leaving the WWE-man on the ground.