Two former All-Pro NFL running backs with Michigan ties are set to throw hands.
Ex-Detroit Lions rusher Adrian Peterson and former Michigan State football star Le’Veon Bell have signed contracts for a heavyweight boxing exhibition July 30 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, ESPN reported Monday.
Peterson and Bell will compete on the undercard of Social Gloves 2, promoted by YouTube star Austin McBroom. Fellow YouTuber AnEsonGib will fight McBroom on the main card, while rapper Blueface will fight former NBA player Nick Young on the undercard.
Notable pro athletes and YouTubers have crossed over for fights previously. Frank Gore, another former All-Pro running back, boxed former NBA All-Star Deron Williams on the undercard of Jake Paul-Tyron Woodley 2 last December.
Peterson, 37, was the 2012 NFL MVP and is No. 5 on the league’s career rushing yards list. Currently a free agent, he’s best known for his time with the Minnesota Vikings, but spent 2020 with the Lions, rushing for 604 yards and seven touchdowns.
Bell, a former Pittsburgh Steelers standout, is also a free agent. The 30-year-old played for Spartans from 2010-12, rushing for 3,346 yards and 33 touchdowns, which ranks seventh and sixth, respectively, among MSU’s all-time leaders.
Both will be in the ring for the first time, and since it’s an exhibition, it won’t officially count as a pro boxing debut.
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