Le’Veon Bell makes bold prediction for Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia, talks YouTube fight this weekend
Although new to boxing, former NFL running back Le’Veon Bell has a knowledge of the sport that others dream of. He uses his knowledge and skills from playing football to be the best athlete he can be. Bell will take that to heart as he looks for a rebound win in his second pro boxing match.
Bell, 31, meets YouTuber JMX in a boxing ring in New Orleans on April 21 in the sixth part of the MF & DAZN: X Series. DAZN will broadcast the event taking place at the XULA Convocation Center.
Bell began his boxing career in September 2022 by defeating another former NFL running back, Adrian Peterson. Bell knocked out Peterson in an exhibition and transitioned to the professional level. The following month he lost to MMA fighter Uriah Hall, someone with martial arts experience. While upset, Bell recounted Karisa Maxwell from Sports News he learned something from that experience.
“I think that loss taught me a lot,” Bell said. “Once I’ve lost, I never want to feel that again. I had to put in this work and that’s why I’m so willing and confident to show people how much better I’ve gotten.
WATCH: Watch MF & DAZN: X Series 6 on DAZN
“It’s not that I didn’t expect him (Hall) to be good, because obviously I did. I think it kind of humbled me. I went into the fight expecting to win but when I didn’t I felt like the work I put in… I worked so hard and then it humbled me. I’m like, ‘Wow, I didn’t work hard enough.’ Of course I didn’t win so that I could go in there and challenge him. It taught me a lot. When I saw that fight, I watched it over and over again… To learn from it. I feel like a special boxer. I’ve gotten to the point where I know what’s going to happen before it actually happens. April 21, live on DAZN, I’ll do a show.”
Bell, a second-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, is a three-time professional bowler. After five years in Pittsburgh, Bell refused to sign a franchise tag and did not report to Steelers camp or subsequent games. As a free agent, Bell played for the Jets, Chiefs, Ravens and Buccaneers.
With his senior year in the NFL in 2021, Bell’s goal is to prove he belongs in boxing. Working in the NFL, while unlike boxing, has helped him prepare for his new job.
MORE: YouTube pound-for-pound boxing rankings
“It was a tough transition. It was tough,” Bell said. At the same time, football has taught me so much. Football actually helped me become a boxer. The athletic background that I have from being on the football field and being with the best athletes in this world, my speed, quickness and timing is better than the guys I step in the ring with. Football helped me mentally. I’m not scared of getting hit because that’s all we (in football) did. I literally run all day guys. It definitely helped me prepare for boxing.
“Boxing is more individual. It’s about how far you want to go, how far you want to take it. For football practice, we’re out there together for two, three hours, we’re done, and then we go to meetings. Boxing is about that how far you want to take it. You just don’t make a living from how many miles you run. You can run as many miles as you want to run. Nobody tells you not to do it. I have that mindset, and I do am ready to present it.”
It will be JMX’s third boxing match. He beat Coach Richard in an amateur fight in 2018 and won his last fight in October against Ginty.
The MF & DAZN: X Series card won’t be the only boxing event this weekend. Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia will face off at T-Mobile Arena on April 22nd. Bell believes the fight for boxing is huge as two young fighters risk their unbeaten records to prove who’s the best. At a time when negotiations are in limbo for Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford and Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, these two have stepped up. He also praised that it was a non-title fight.
MORE: Join DAZN to watch Davis vs. Garcia
As far as a winner goes, he has 50.5/49.5 in favor of Davis.
“When you box a guy like ‘Tank’ for 12 rounds, you have to be perfect because he can just put you to sleep,” Bell said. “You don’t know all the time when he’s coming with his punches. When he tries to dish out power punches and tries to catch you. He might see something on turn one or two, but might not capitalize on it until turn six. But I also know that Ryan Garcia has what it takes. He has enough length that if he boxed perfectly for 12 rounds he could win… Ryan could step out with hands too low or something, or get too aggressive, and “Tank” could catch him like he did with Rollie (Rolando Romero). I give ‘Tank’ the least advantage.
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