Ex-NFL star Le’Veon Bell picked up another win in his fledgling boxing career after he earned a unanimous decision over Tristan Hamm at Misfits Boxing 15.
Flanked by former teammate and friend Antonio Brown as he entered the ring, Bell had to survive an early scare after Hamm blasted him with a huge left hand in an early exchange that had him in trouble. To his credit, Bell composed himself and then stormed back to dish out a lot of punishment with Hamm fading with each passing minute.
In the end, Bell got the nod with the judges scoring the contest 49-45, 48-46, 50-44 after five hard fought rounds. The win moves Bell forward to the semifinals of the ongoing Misfits cruiserweight tournament.
“This dude right here’s a f*cking soldier,” Bell said about Hamm after his win. “To be honest, today was another learning curve for me. There’s no ceiling for me, I’m just going to keep getting better. I feel like I just fought the best guy in the tournament other than myself. If you win, you’re going to have to see me.”
It was Hamm who landed the first big punch in the fight after he blasted Bell with a huge left hook that put the ex-NFL star on wobbly legs. Hamm immediately started talking trash rather than following up with a combination to mount some further damage on Bell.
By the end of the opening round, Bell had recovered and he started using his size and reach to hammer down on Hamm while also muscling him around in the clinch. With Hamm slowing down, Bell made him pay, especially with a well-timed straight right that landed clean from the outside.
It wasn’t until late in the second when Hamm finally started trading shots with Bell after he snapped off several nasty uppercuts as the fighters jockeyed for position on the inside.
With Bell remaining in control, he swung heavy in an exchange where Hamm actually went down to his knees in what looked like a slip. Instead, the referee administered the 10 count for a knockdown but Hamm didn’t complain so he either actually got hurt or he just welcomed the extra time to recover as him labored movement continued to haunt him.
Replays showed a punch from Bell did glance off Hamm’s temple just before he hit the canvas momentarily.
As the fourth round started, Hamm was still stuck on his back foot with Bell in hot pursuit, tossing out a left jab and then following with a power right behind it.
Urging from his corner had Hamm finally starting to get a little busier but he was resigned to leaning back against the ropes or conceding to the corner with Bell bullying him around the ring. Bell wasn’t exactly going for the kill either but he was comfortably ahead on the scorecards so he just had to ensure he didn’t do anything stupid to cost him the fight.
Bell has definitely endured some growing pains in his boxing career, which included a one-sided loss to retired UFC fighter Uriah Hall, but he’s now won two fights in a row including his latest in Misfits. He’ll now look forward to the next round of the cruiserweight tournament with hopes that a championship could be in his future.
