The boxing battle of former All-Pro running backs is off -- at least for now.
The Social Gloves 2 card featuring Le’Veon Bell and Adrian Peterson’s exhibition boxing match has been postponed due to the main event falling through.
The promotion released a statement Friday announcing the postponement of the July 30 event at The Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, as YouTube star AnEsonGib was unable to fight fellow YouTuber Austin McBroom in the headline bout. No new date has been organized, but “early September” is the hope.
The release did not specify plans for any bouts other than Gib-McBroom. TMZ reported it was “told all the fights are still set to go down.”
Peterson, the NFL’s fifth all-time rusher, and Bell, a former two-time All-Pro, had their fight announced in early July. Bell, 30, and Peterson, 37, are each free agents as it pertains to the NFL.
While Peterson seemed to indicate he was open to returning to football or boxing after this exhibition, Bell has made it clear he wouldn’t be playing football in 2022 and was focused on boxing, even seeming to be hinting at retirement in a social media post.
At the very least, Bell and Peterson squaring off in the ring is in jeopardy. With a new date for Social Gloves 2 still yet to be determined and just the general unpredictable nature of the fight game, there is no guarantee both novice sweet scientists will be available for the new date or another opportunity won’t come along. As of now, the only certainty is that the fate of Peterson and Bell’s exhibition is to be determined.