Le'Veon Bell training at Pittsburgh-area boxing gym while eyeing up fight against Adam "Pacman" Jones
He once had a career as a top running back, spending many Sundays at Acrisure Stadium with Big Ben and the Steelers. Now Le'Veon Bell is hanging up the cleats for a pair of boxing gloves.
He's training in southwestern Pennsylvania to be a boxer, while hyping a potential showdown with one of his old NFL rivals.
Bell has reinvented himself before as a rapper, social media star and now a boxer. He's been training at Shaffer's Boys Club in Uniontown under the eye of Monesson native and former heavyweight champion Michael Moorer, building momentum for a fight that could end up center stage during the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh.
"I like what he represents, what he has, his style," Moorer said.
"All I asked him to do was just listen. I said, 'Le'Veon, all you have to do is listen. If you listen, you'll be successful,'" he added.
Bell is building hype in his quest for new glory, with more than a million followers on social media, in a push to lock in his next big fight. His potential opponent? Former Bengals cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones, a West Virginia University alum. A rivalry that once played out on the football field could be reborn in the ring.
"Backyard Brawl, man. Guy went to West Virginia, I played in Pittsburgh. Let's make it happen," Bell said.
And what better place to showcase what's being billed as the boxing Backyard Brawl than in Pittsburgh at the Rivers Casino in April during the NFL Draft?
Gym owner and local attorney Thomas Shaffer says the timing is no accident. A Bell-Pacman Jones fight could be an event fans will remember.
"It's going to be the day of the draft. It's going to be right before the draft. Right next door to the stadium at Rivers. There's going to be a quarter-million people. It's going to sell out. It's going to be a big deal," Shaffer said.
Bell's years on the gridiron just may give him a unique edge in the ring, no matter the opponent. He says his agility, footwork and conditioning from football translate into power and speed. And with a world champion in his corner, Bell believes he has the tools to dominate.
"Us gelling together is going to be special in this space, in this influencer space, you know? Eventually I want to start fighting the pro fights and the guys who be in the heavyweights, the pro pound-for-pound list. Anybody who step in my eye range, I want him," Bell said.
But first, Bell says he wants Pacman Jones. In fact, he says he wants to knock him out.
"I've done a lot of great things here in Pittsburgh, you know, but I haven't knocked nobody out in Pittsburgh," he said.
"I'm just eager to show people like, y'all thought I was special in football, let me show you how special I am in the ring too," Bell said.
While nothing is set in stone right now, Bell will continue to train in Uniontown, hoping his second act lands just as big a punch as his first.