It's been more than three years since former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell played an NFL game, but his career as a professional athlete is far from over.
For the past two years, Bell has turned to boxing as the next step in his career and has competed in several big events during that time.
Now he will get a chance to compete in another big event.
On April 20th, Misfits Boxing announced MF & DAZN: X Series 15, in which Bell will compete in the co-main event of a boxing match against influencer Tristan Hamm.
The bout will be the first quarterfinal of the organization's cruiserweight title tournament.
The centerpiece of the card will be a fight between Elle Brook and former UFC fighter Paige VanZant.
Bell's boxing career
Bell's boxing career is not very long, but in a short period of time he managed to get into the ring with prominent opponents.
His crossover into martial arts began with a match against another former NFL running back who was a regular All-Pro at the peak of his career.
In September 2022, he faced Adrian Peterson in an exhibition match and won by TKO in the fifth round.
Just a month later, Bell made his professional boxing debut as part of a mega-event, facing an opponent with far more martial arts experience.
Bell faced former UFC middleweight Uriah Hall on the undercard of Jake Paul's bout with Anderson Silva.
The fight with Hall was not very successful. In the end, Bell lost to Hall by unanimous decision.
In April 2023, Bell returned to the boxing ring for a fight with Youtuber JMX. He won the bout by unanimous decision, earning him the first win of his professional career.
That bout took place under the Misfits Boxing banner, and now he will be fighting for the organization again.
Overwhelming run against the Steelers
The Steelers drafted Bell in the middle of the second round in 2013 and couldn't have asked for a better outcome for that decision.
It didn't take long for Bell to become an NFL star. In his second season with the Steelers, he had 1,361 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns, and added 83 catches for 854 yards and three more TDs.
He earned First Team All-Pro and a Pro Bowl berth, and finished fourth in Offensive Player of the Year voting that year.
His next season was cut short due to a suspension and a torn MCL, but he bounced back significantly in his fourth season.
In 2016, Bell had 1,268 yards on the ground, 75 catches, and 616 receiving yards. His performance earned him a spot on the All-Pro Second Team and finished sixth in Offensive Player of the Year voting.
After the 2016 season, the Steelers used the franchise tag to keep Bell until the next season.
In 2017, he put together another great year. He ran for 1,291 yards and nine touchdowns, and had 85 catches for 655 yards and two TDs. As a result, Bell was reinstated to the All-Pro First Team.
Things got a little sticky between Bell and the Steelers after that. The two sides were unable to agree on a long-term contract during the 2018 offseason, and the Steelers again used the franchise tag on Bell.
Bell ended up sitting out the 2018 season and was traded to the Jets in 2019.
Although his stay in Pittsburgh ended like this, Bell said earlier this year that he wanted to return to the team.
“And brother, when I go to practice in March and I make the decision in April to come back and play in the NFL, write down what I say — I'm going to be better than ever.” Much more than that,” Bell said. “And I'm only going to come back for that one team. You guys know who it is. There's no need to say there's no team. You guys know who it is. ”
For now, it appears he will have to put any comeback attempt on hold as he focuses on the next step in his boxing career.
