Simon Jordan and Spencer Oliver are boxing’s unlikely match-up but the chairman and the champion are box office

Simon Jordan and Spencer Oliver are an unlikely duo, but it just seems to work.

When asked who their dream guest would be on their talkBOXING show, which airs weekly on the talkSPORT Boxing YouTube channel, Jordan named Tyson Fury and Oliver chose Anthony Joshua.

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And perhaps that's the perfect analogy for Jordan and Oliver's relationship, as they sit down to record another episode of their box office show, which is about to record episode no.50 with a live edition of talkBOXING planned for 2024.

Like Fury and Joshua, they have very different styles and characters, but they bring the best out of each other, which has helped the channel record millions of views.

Although, unlike the heavyweight duo, for Oliver at least, there's quite a height difference, which Jordan frequently reminds him of.

In fact, as soon as the pair entered the studio to film the latest episode of talkBOXING, Jordan immediately made a quip about Oliver being vertically challenged.

This was before talk turned to Oliver's fashion choices, as they discussed whether he could pull off wearing a burgundy top.

But, when the cameras started rolling, both men's shared love of the sweet science became evident. Whether you agree with what they say or not, their unrivalled passion for the sport of boxing cannot be denied.

A range of topics were covered through the show from the Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou pay-per-view numbers, to whether we'll seen any of the top heavyweights back in the ring this year and the rumours that Netflix may be entering the boxing broadcasting business.

The two men were introduced to the sport from different angles, with Spencer growing up in a boxing family and dreaming of competing in the ring one day - something he fulfilled by becoming European super bantamweight champion.

Jordan's journey is more unlikely for those who may know him as the former chairman of Premier League side Crystal Palace.

While his father was a professional footballer and he had similar ambitions, boxing was always present with him.

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It began when he attended Marvin Hagler vs Alan Minter in 1980 and then he was really hooked when Mike Tyson burst onto the heavyweight scene. "A phenomenon," in a young Jordan's eyes.

"You then start watching Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran and if you're watching British fighters, you watch Errol Graham, Kirkland Lang and Frank Bruno," he added.

"There was something about boxing and something about the sheer energy, authenticity and vitality of the sport."

Outside of the ring, however, Jordan made a success of himself in business becoming a multimillionaire and ending up in professional football.

As such, with Jordan's business mind and ringside view combined with Oliver's inside knowledge and lived experience, it results in their conversations around the sport being comprehensive and detailed.

It helps that the pair share a unique chemistry on camera, even if Jordan wouldn't like to admit it. "I'm being dragged down by a dead-weight," he joked about his friendship. "He's like a millstone."

Oliver responded while laughing: "It's reverse psychology one day he'll break and he'll probably cry."

That just teed his co-host up again. "I cry every Monday when I have to do this with you," he replied.

But Oliver wasn't having it, insisting: "Behind that brick wall there's a little teddy bear and I know he enjoys doing this."

As for Oliver, his career in the media has been a way to stay a part of the sport he loves after life-threatening injuries sustained in a fight in 1998 cut his boxing career short.

"The passion for me still burns as much as when I was still boxing because boxing was taken away from me so it was a way of rebuilding my life and that burning desire was still in me," Oliver explained.

"I hadn't had the fight knocked out of me, so I carried on into doing this and I love it."

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And Jordan, while he takes the mickey out of Oliver in the way only a friend will, has a huge amount of respect for anyone willing to step into the ring.

"I'm an observer," Jordan said. "I've never had the courage or his convictions to get in a ring and do what he does, it's a different kind of person, but that doesn't mean you can't look at it and think 'wow'."

But, even as an observer not a fighter, Jordan is able to have a deep appreciation. "Despite the brutality of the sport sometimes and despite the politics that seem now to pervade it, there is no energy, - and I owned a Premier League football club so I can speak about a different sport - but there is no energy like that in big fights."

Jordan then made reference to the recent bouts between Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Smith.

The first of which Smith won by knockout, but in the rematch Eubank redeemed himself and stopped the Liverpudlian.

"Big fights are categorised in a variety of ways," Jordan continued. "Some people would say that Liam Smith vs Chris Eubank Jr is not a big fight.

"But, I defy you to walk into an arena in Manchester, watching 20,000 fans going absolutely demented when Liam Smith walks in and going after Chris Eubank Jr because he, at the beginning of the conversation, was the villain of the piece.

"I defy you to find a sport that exhibits that kind of energy."

And if that equates to half as much energy Jordan spends cooking up insults about his co-host's height then that is quite the statement.

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