Le'Veon Bell challenges infamously dirty former NFL LB to boxing match
Since stepping away from the NFL, Le'Veon Bell has turned his attention to boxing and recently expressed an interest in facing an old AFC North rival in his next bout.
Appearing on Misfits Boxing's official podcast, Bell , who's 1-1 as a professional, was asked who he'd like to fight in the future. While he didn't reveal a name, the ex-Steelers running back alluded to longtime Bengal Vontaze Burfict, claiming that the former linebacker once intentionally injured him.
"It's someone from football," Bell said. "They had purposely injured me. I don't think I want to say the name, but people who watched my career when I hurt my knee, people know. Yeah, people know. I would love to put my hands on him in a ring."
The hit Bell referred to came during Pittsburgh's 16-10 Week 8 loss to Cincinnati during the 2015 season, when Burfict tackled him, leaving him with a torn MCL. After that game, Bell's teammate Ramon Foster accused Burfict of celebrating the injury on the field.
Burfict, who hasn't played football since being suspended for a dirty hit in 2019, was involved in several controversial plays against the Steelers throughout his career.
During the 2016 AFC wild-card game, Burfict delivered a helmet-to-helmet blow to wide receiver Antonio Brown, which concussed him, forcing him to miss the rest of the playoffs. And in Week 7 of 2017, Burfict kicked fullback Roosevelt Nix in the head after a play resulting in a fine of $12,154.
Apparently, Burfict has matured from his violent behavior in recent years. Upon hearing Bell's comments, Burfict took to Instagram to make amends, suggesting they reconcile by co-hosting a charity golf event.
"@leveonbell Why we lookin' to fight? Why not show everyone WE can change the narrative. Let's show the world WE can squash beef in other ways than boxing," Burfict wrote. "Let's meet and compete on the golf course. Get some charities involved so WE can help people in need and show kids that we resolved our differences to make the world a better place."
On Tuesday, Bell came across Burfict's response on Twitter, and it appears that he won't be taking him up on the offer, tweeting, "lol sure bro."
Considering a fight with Burfict is unlikely, perhaps Bell will challenge himself against an actual professional boxer to continue developing his skills.
Bell lost his debut bout to retired UFC fighter Uriah Hall on the undercard of Jake Paul and Anderson Silva's October 2022 fight. Last month, he earned his first victory against YouTube personality "JMX" at the Misfits Boxing 6 event. The 31-year-old also fought fellow former running back Adrian Peterson at Social Gloves 2 in September 2022, winning via a fifth-round TKO.
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