Adrian Peterson and Le’Veon Bell are set to trade punches in a battle of NFL stars.
MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck confirmed with sources with knowledge of the matchup that Peterson and Bell will face one another in an exibition boxing match on July 30 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The news was first reported by TMZ Sports.
This will be the first boxing match for both athletes.
Peterson vs. Bell will be part of the undercard of the upcoming Social Gloves 2 event, promoted by YouTuber Austin McBroom, who faces fellow YouTuber AnEsonGib in the headlining bout.
Peterson is widely regarded as one of the greatest running backs in NFL history. He won the league MVP award in 2012 and was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2010s. The 37-year-old starred for the Minnesota Vikings from 2007 to 2016 and is currently a free agent following recent stints with Seattle, Tennessee, and Detroit.
The seven-time Pro Bowler’s career was marred by notable legal issues, including a 2014 incident in which a grand jury indicted him on on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child after he confessed to beating his four-year-old son with a “switch.”
This past February, Peterson was arrested during a flight from Los Angeles to Houston following an altercation with his wife on an airplane. The arrest was initially for domestic violence, but Peterson’s wife later released a statement saying that the argument was strictly verbal. Domestic violence charges were later dropped.
Bell, 30, is also currently a free agent. The former Michigan State standout was the featured running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2013 to 2018 and most recently played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021.