Pat Mahomes Sr and John Rocker are set to officially face off in the ring, Dave Portnoy has confirmed.
The confirmation follows an explosive report from DailyMail.com that stated that the former baseball stars were set to fight each other at one of Barstool Sports’ ‘Rough N’ Rowdy’ promotions.
Portnoy confirmed Wednesday that the bout – dubbed the ‘Beef on Bourbon Street’ after their New Orleans confrontation – will headline his April 19 card in Wheeling, West Virginia.
‘I guess they f***ing hated each other since their playing days, baseball,’ Portnoy said. ‘I mean, I guess not surprising. Everyone has beef with John Rocker.’
He went on to insist that the fight wouldn’t be a repeat of Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson because there’s real bad blood between the two.
In a video which went viral Tuesday night and appears to have been taken sometime during Super Bowl week, Mahomes Sr, 54, and Rocker, 50, were seen confronting each other in the street.
Barstool founder Dave Portnoy confirmed that Pat Mahomes Sr and John Rocker will fight
Ex-MLB pitchers John Rocker (L) and Pat Mahomes Sr (R) were seen in a confrontation
The two appeared to try physically attacking each other before being separated by bystanders. One person appeared to recognize Rocker. As Mahomes Sr got pulled away, Rocker tossed his cup full of ice at him before walking off.
Hours after the clip went viral, Mahomes Sr put out a tweet, saying, ‘John Rocker is a menace to society.’
However, Portnoy skirted around admitting that the street confrontation was staged to promote the fight.
‘It’s honestly insane to insinuate that we would stage a fight on Bourban Street to promote a fight that was announced a couple days later,’ he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. ‘I am offended good sir!’
Mahomes Sr was in town to watch his son, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, play in Super Bowl LIX against the Philadelphia Eagles – a game the Chiefs ultimately lost.
Portnoy also took the chance to take a swipe at the signal caller, who famously isn’t a fan of Barstool.
‘Well, now your dad’s fighting in our company against John Rocker. So I’ll save a seat. Free of charge,’ he added.
Rocker and Mahomes Sr were members of rival teams in the 1999 and 2000 seasons – with Rocker on the Braves and Mahomes Sr on the Mets.
Mahomes Sr (seen with son Patrick Mahomes (R)) is set to fight Rocker in a boxing match
Mahomes Sr was arrested for driving while intoxicated back in February last year in Texas
Mahomes Sr last played baseball in 2003 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but in recent times has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
He was arrested for driving while intoxicated in 2008, 2019 and 2024, and last year was banned from driving after being found on the roads without a valid license.
He spent 10 days in jail and is now under ‘intense supervision’ in his first year of probation.
Rocker is known for his controversies as well. In a 1999 interview with Jeff Pearlman of Sports Illustrated, Rocker made a series of racist and homophobic statements in a highly-publicized and discussed interview.
Rocker, who was with the Atlanta Braves at the time, called Curacaoan teammate Randall Simon a ‘fat monkey’ and used racial stereotypes toward Asian women driving on the road.
When asked by Pearlman if he’d ever play for the New York Yankees or the New York Mets, Rocker gave an infamous quote calling it ‘the most hectic, nerve-wracking city’ and that he’d retire before playing there.
‘Imagine having to take the 7 Train to the ballpark (Shea Stadium, former home of the Mets) looking like you’re riding through Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It’s depressing.
Rocker added, ‘The biggest thing I don’t like about New York are the foreigners. You can walk an entire block in Times Square and not hear anybody speaking English. Asians and Koreans and Vietnamese and Indians and Russians and Spanish people and everything up there. How the hell did they get in this country?’
Rocker (seen in 2000) is known for making controversial racist and homophobic comments
Mets fans protest at the 7 train station outside Shea Stadium before a game in June of 2000
MLB commissioner Bud Selig suspended Rocker without pay for the entirety of spring training – as well as the first 28 games of the 2000 season. After an appeal, the in-season suspension was reduced to 14 games.
Rocker’s comments didn’t go over well with Mets fans – with whom Rocker already had a contentious relationship. Elsewhere in Pearlman’s piece, the pitcher referred to Mets fans as ‘degenerates’.
In addition to his controversial comments – both made in the Pearlman piece and in multiple instances years later – Rocker admitted to using steroids during his career, saying, ‘Yeah, of course I was [using steroids]. I mean who wasn’t? Let’s be honest here, who wasn’t?’
Mahomes Sr was spotted throughout the week in and around New Orleans before the Big Game.
He was spotted in a casino in the city on Thursday night, alongside his ex-wife Randi and his son Jackson.
