Le’Veon Bell doesn’t want to fight running backs in the boxing ring anymore.
“They asked did I want to fight Frank Gore on the show and I said no,” Bell said Wednesday, per Grant Gordon of NFL.com. “I said I don’t want to fight any more running backs, because honestly, I don’t feel like—and this is no disrespect to Frank Gore or any other running back—I don’t feel like those guys are on my skill level when it comes to boxing because they can’t make me go to the space that I can go to.”
Bell looked ready for a step up in class when he earned a fifth-round TKO win over fellow former running back Adrian Peterson in September.
He will get an opportunity to face more of a fighter on Saturday when he goes against Uriah “Prime Time” Hall of the UFC as part of the undercard for the Jake Paul-Anderson Silva showdown.
It should be noted that Gore isn’t just an average former running back when it comes to boxing. He defeated Yaya Olorunsola via knockout in May in his pro boxing debut.
Yet Bell, who is younger at 30 than the 39-year-old Gore, was looking for a different challenge.
He will get it in Hall.