Dustin Poirier is one of the latest MMA fighters to express interest in entering the world of boxing. However, while many professionals in his field have a direct plan to move to the industry in the latter part of their career, Poirier only treats the idea as an unreachable plan that will stay as a dream.
It can’t be denied that “The Diamond” made a mark in the MMA industry after achieving success under UFC. Despite the recent loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 291 in July, the fighter remains a sought-after opponent, with Conor McGregor hoping to make a fourth fight with his conqueror in the future.
For Poirier, nonetheless, the ultimate dream is to try boxing. In his latest interview with The MMA Hour, the fighter reminisced about how his interest in the sport had started and later moved to MMA.
“I loved combat sports,” said Poirier. “I loved boxing first. I would watch fights and I would be inspired by it, and I knew whatever those guys were showing in there, fighting through the blood and the grit, kept pushing forward, whatever that was, I knew I had it. I knew I had that.
“I knew about cage fighting. Me and my dad used to watch VHS tapes from mom and pop video stores back in the day. Of course I knew about cage fighting, and I had wrestled a little bit when I was younger, didn’t know anything about jiu-jitsu, but when I met those guys in the boxing gym and they started telling me where they trained and did kickboxing and jiu-jitsu, that next weekend I was at their gym and never came back.”
According to the No. 3-ranked lightweight fighter, he’s always considered trying boxing professionally. However, with his current contract, Poirier doesn’t think that is the path for him to take.
“Boxing? I would like to before it’s all done, but I don’t think it’s ever going to happen,” Poirier shared. “I think I have like 5-6 more fights left on my contract with the UFC. I would like to.
“The first time I ever put on a pair of gloves they were boxing gloves. I thought I was going to be a boxer.”
Poirier is not the first to entertain the idea of boxing despite having a huge name in the MMA industry. Prior to him, MMA fighters like Nate Diaz, Tyron Woodley, and Francis Ngannou had already ventured into the boxing world, with the latter making a huge success in his debut against Tyson Fury. After that, many MMA fighters started sharing their intent to soon try the sport, including Tom Aspinall and Ilia Topuria.
For some, the pay is the motivation for the move. Chris Eubank Jr. himself acknowledged the issue about the matter, saying fighters “are not being compensated like they should be.” Nonetheless, this is not the case for Poirier, who expressed his content about his current condition as an MMA fighter.
“I happy with where it went,” Poirier said. “I think I would have done well in boxing. I still think I can do well in boxing, but I’m an MMA fighter.”
