In a boxing match featuring two former star NFL running backs, Le’Veon Bell Well received Adrian PetersonHe rocked him with a hard right hand to earn a fifth-round TKO victory Saturday night at Bank of California Stadium in Los Angeles.
Bell and Peterson are the two big names on the cover, titled “Social Gloves: No More Talk.”
After four lackluster rounds in their five-round exhibition, Bell dropped Peterson in the fifth with a straight right that caught him on the chin. Peterson staggered back to his feet, forcing the referee to stop the bout.
Peterson knocked Bell down early in the fight, but it was a mostly uneventful affair until Bell landed the decisive blow in the fifth.
“I really appreciate everyone’s love and support,” Bell, a former Pittsburgh Steelers star, said after the fight. “That’s what keeps me going. Honestly, all the hate… drives me.”
Bell, 30, reiterated his plans to pursue a career in boxing, saying he has put football behind him.
Before Saturday’s event, Bell, who played a total of eight games last season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baltimore Ravens, said he wanted to become a star in the ring after a stellar career on the football field.
Peterson, who is fifth on the NFL’s all-time list with 14,918 career rushing yards, played a total of four games in 2021 with the Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks. Like Bell, Peterson, 37, is not officially retired. Peterson said he’s always been a fan of boxing and embraced the opportunity to have fun with the possibility of a return to the NFL.
YouTube star Austin McBroom, a former college basketball player with 6.4 million followers on Instagram, headlines the cover. And Nick YoungThe former NBA standout, also known as Swaggy B, took on the social media influencer Minicon.