Michael van Gerwen reveals he FLOORED Phil Taylor after World Darts rival bragged about being pals with boxing legend
FEISTY Michael van Gerwen has revealed the moment he threw cocky Phil Taylor to the floor in an off-oche bust-up.
Mighty Mike, 34, and The Power, 63, had an altercation backstage several years ago during the Grand Slam of Darts, then held at the Civic Centre in Wolverhampton.
GettyMichael van Gerwen has revealed a sensational bust-up with Phil Taylor several years ago[/caption]
GettyMVG threw Taylor after The Power boasted of his friendship with Ricky Hatton[/caption]
MVG turned into Oche Balboa after Taylor boasted about his friendship with boxing legend Ricky Hatton.
The Dutch ace, hoping to win the World Darts Championship, said: “At the old venue, Phil came backstage and he was talking about his friend Ricky Hatton, blah, blah, blah.
“He was doing these little boxing moves. Shadow boxing. He came up to every player. But I didn’t know what he was doing.
“I took him . . . and before I knew it, he was on the floor next to me. That’s how it happened.
“I thought, ‘What did I do?’ He was like, ‘What happened here?’.
“Who threw the big Phil Taylor on the floor? Yeah, sorry, that was me. It was quite funny. I was more shocked — ‘Did I really do it?’.”
Van Gerwen was quick to stress that, this incident aside, the pair — who share 19 world titles between them — had a “good-natured” relationship on and off stage.
The Green Machine said: “Me and Phil, of course, we had our little things. But we never had a problem together.
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GettyVan Gerwen is hoping to go all the way at the World Darts Championship[/caption]
“We had a little rivalry and we had a little saying about each other and we both accepted how much it is. We’ve got respect for each other.
“Of course, sometimes he gave it to me a little bit, I gave back to him, but never in a nasty way.”
SunSport reported last month how the pair clashed on stage at Leicester Square during an evening to celebrate 30 years of the PDC World Darts Championship.
In front of a sold-out crowd, Van Gerwen teased the Stoke thrower, who retired from the PDC circuit in 2018, by saying: “Phil’s so lucky I wasn’t born earlier.”
He added that his “biggest regret” was losing all three of his matches with Taylor at world level.
Three-time world champion Van Gerwen told the JaackMaate’s Happy Hour Podcast: “Phil was talking so much nonsense that night. I tried to wind him up. I’m his worst nightmare, trust me.
“As I was coming up and winning tournaments — he had a lot of problems with me, when we played each other. Because I’m a good darts player.
“If you look at the first time when he beat me at the world championships (in 2007) and how he jumped on the stage . . . I was only a kid, he was so happy to beat me. I see it as a credit to me when someone of his calibre does that.
“A lot of people back in that day when they had to play Phil Taylor, they had already lost hundreds of times to him. He already had them in his pocket.
“But he never had me under control. He didn’t like that. What he did for the game was absolutely amazing.
“But at one point he didn’t play as good any more and he was getting a little bit sore. A sore person. That’s what didn’t help his career.
“He could have waved everyone away. But sometimes when you stop, you have to stop.
“In his mind, he still cannot stop. He has started to get a bit of a sore man. I don’t know if he is jealous. I know one thing, I’m partly to blame in combination with other things for his retirement.”
Van Gerwen could further cement his own legacy with a fourth world title on January 3, which would put him one behind Eric Bristow and Raymond van Barneveld.
Yet to drop a set this tournament, unstoppable Van Gerwen was close to tears after beating Stephen Bunting in the last 16 as he accepted he would spend another New Year without his wife and two kids.
