Lions fan talks up possible fight with Brandon Marshall
Believe it or not, there was a time when people had to be face to face to start a fight.
Thanks to social media, Anthony Kalla, a Lions fan from Southfield, just needed accounts on Instagram and Twitter to possibly brawl with Chicago Bears star wide receiver Brandon Marshall.
A few days ago, Kalla, 24, aimed some disparaging comments at Marshall — including one about his mother — on Instagram, and on Thursday, Marshall responded and offered $5,000 to "get in a ring with me."
After some back and forth, the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Marshall eventually upped the ante to $25,000, and now, Kalla is hoping Marshall doesn't back out. Kalla, who's 5-foot-10 and 220 pounds according to a friend, even tweeted to Marshall a potential date for the fight, February 14, 2015.
"That's when we're shooting for," Chris Khemmoro, Kalla's friend from West Bloomfield, told The Detroit News. "If we have to reschedule, we'll reschedule, but this is going to happen. He's going to fight him."
Maybe the Lions fan and Bears superstar will skip the fight and instead fall in love on Valentine's Day.
Marshall's agent didn't immediately respond to a voice message Thursday night, but the star receiver wrote that any fight would be for charity. Part of Marshall's offer was that if Kalla loses he'd have to perform 100 hours of community service at an orphanage.
Khemmoro, who has been parading on Twitter as Kalla's agent, also said he and Kalla plan to fly to Las Vegas and begin training at Floyd Mayweather's Boxing Club, though he didn't provide more details. A publicist for Mayweather didn't immediately respond to a voice message Thursday night.
"I know people who know people," Khemmoro said.
The social media fight began a few days ago when Kalla randomly commented on a photo of Marshall, 30, from two months ago, and his dislike of Marshall, who has seven straight 1,000-yard seasons, started well before the posts.
"Remember when you called Detroit the little brother? Haha," Kalla wrote.
"WELL LOOK WHOS AT THE BOTTOM NOW YOU (expletive)!!" he continued.
On 97.1 on Thursday night, Kalla said he took issue with Marshall's comments last November about Detroit's financial problems, a few months after the city declared bankruptcy.
"It wasn't even about ripping on the Lions," Kalla said on the radio. "He was talking about the city of Detroit. He's a football player. He has nothing to do with a city's finances. He took a low blow right there, so I gave him one right back."
The low blow was Kalla calling Marshall's mother something not fit for print.
"When I said that about his mother, it was just to get his attention. I didn't mean that," Kalla said.
With the Bears starting 3-6 and the Lions 7-2, Kalla finally summoned the courage to give Marshall a piece of his mind. Of course, if the fight actually happens, Kalla is realistic about his chances, at least he was in the radio interview.
"I'm not scrawny," Kalla said. "I actually work out a lot. I've never professionally boxed. I have dabbled a little bit, but never professionally and never against a man of his size.
"Realistically, if it does happen, I don't expect to win, but I'd still make 25 grand."
jkatzenstein@detroitnews.com
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