Hot Dog Eating Showdown Between Legends Could Be In The Works

Jaws Drop Over Dream Bout Between Hot Dog-Eating Legends

Is the battle of the titans back on?

Rumors and stomachs are swirling after eight-time world hot dog eating champion Joey "Jaws" Chestnut revealed that there may be a face-off against disgraced gustatory legend Takeru Kobayashi in the works. Chestnut leaked the news -- albeit before reaching a final deal with Kobi -- Wednesday in an interview with the New York Daily News.

On Thursday, just before America's celebrated July 4th eating contest, Chestnut said he'd be happy to have Kobi back at the Big Table. He backpedalled from confirming there will be a Major League Eating sanctioned event between the two bottomless pits, but agreed he's hungry to get his only true competitor back in the game.

WHERE TO WATCH THE COMPETITION
July 4th, 2015, at Coney Island, New York
Women's Contest - 11AM EST ON ESPN3
Main Event - 12PM ON ESPN2

"He was the reason I dove into competitive eating head first," Chestnut told The Huffington Post. "We had a rivalry, me and Kobi. He was my nemesis. I really enjoyed beating him and seeing him in pain, I’m sure he felt the same."

In the world of competitive eating, a gut-busting battle between Chestnut and Kobayashi is as sought after as the boxing match between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Maywether that materialized earlier this year.

Buns furiously flew in their last matchup in 2009 when Chestnut downed 68 dogs to Kobayashi's 64.

To be sure, there are more important matters at hand. Kobi yet again won't enter Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island on Saturday.

He's been in a prolonged contractual dispute with MLE and will instead eat frankfurters while playing ping pong in a separate event ignored by aficionados and casual spectators.

Once again Chestnut is the mouth to beat. His only real competitor is Matt Stonie making Chestnut a favorite to win. It would be his ninth title. He wants to win his 10th next year, during the competition's 100-year anniversary celebration.

Chestnut holds the record for devouring 69 hot dogs and buns in a contest and won last year's salty smackdown with 61 HDBs to Stonie's 58. Chestnut says he's "always nervous" to go wiener-for-wiener with the man known as the Megatoad, and this could be a year for upset stomachs. But he's been training with a diet of only liquids and hot dogs over the past few weeks.

"Stonie can eat, he’s my biggest obstacle, he’s young and hungry and he’s willing to push his body," Chestnut said. "But my body feels like a hot dog eating machine. I'm ready."

Luckily, Chestnut and Stonie won't have to scarf next to the dark horse of competitive eating, Andy "Feast Mode" Campbell, who's not under contract by MLE and therefore not allowed to compete (though he has demonstrated his enthusiastic, yet sloppy technique for HuffPost). Meet this year's legitimate competitors:

Joey Chestnut
ASSOCIATED PRESS
What more can you say? He's the winningest eater and currently the top eater in the world. His legacy is beginning to push Kobayashi's out, and he's gunning for his 9th and 10th titles in the next two years.RELATED: This Is How You Eat 69 Dogs In Ten Minutes
Matt Stonie
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Stonie has beaten Chestnut several times before with certain foods: Gyros (twice), poutine, Twinkies, pumpkin pie, burgers and tacos. He's a serious trainer and only lost to Chestnut by a few dogs last year in weird weather conditions.But is he a real contender at the Big Table?The Voice Of Major League Eating and competitor himself, Crazy Legs Conti, thinks not."You don’t beat joey jaws chestnut on the Fourth," Conti said. "His income is based on those 10 minutes, and he's a machine... [Stonie] is beautiful, he's a great eater. He could be an H&M model, but he's not beating Joey. Not in hot dogs."
Miki Sudo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sudo smacked her rival, Sonya Thomas, in the gut last year when she took the reigning champ's mustard belt away with 34 HDBs in 10 minutes. This year will be interesting, however, because Sudo says she didn't prepare."The 4th of July snuck up on me," she said. "I’ve practiced and prepared a lot less ... I perform better when I’m at a healthy lean weight, so I've spent a lot of time in the gym, but it's hard to tell where I'll be."Chestnut says that Sudo's clever, and her humble declaration may be an intimidation factor for the contest.
Sonya Thomas
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Thomas, the reigning champion in 2013, consumed 27 and three quarters hot dogs last year to place second at the women's table. She's the 5th ranked eater in the world, and the nice weather projected for this contest could put her back at the top -- field conditions are key, after all, and last year the cold weather tightened up everyone's dogs and stomachs.
Nela Zisser
zisser
Remember that model who can eat filet-o-fish and Subway sandwiches like nobody else? Nela Zisser is entered in this year's contest, adding an outside celebrity angle that this contest hasn't seen for years.Her skill with HDBs haven't yet been determined, but competitors said they were worried the underdog may come out on top. Nobody expects the Zisser.

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