Boxers who ended their career to play another sport professionally

[Ade L]

I was watching the Leon McKenzie v Kelvin Young fight (pro footballer turned pro boxer) and was trying to think of boxers did the reverse and quit boxing to play another sport (excluding MMA etc.) professionally?

[Mimmy]

Steve black a heavyweight from the 80's went on to coach newcastle (eagles?) rugby team.

[littlepug]

British heavyweight Adam Forgerty (18-1-0) packed in boxing to play professional rugby league - and had a pretty successful RL career with various clubs thereafter. He got into acting later on as well, and was in the remake of 'Mean Machine' and the Guy Ritchie's 'Snatch' amongst other TV and film appearances.

he was already a pro rugby player before turning to boxing

[littlepug]

gary mason turned to rugby after boxing but think it was more of a promotional stunt

[BroughtonRulesRefuge]

- Charlie Schmidt a Detroit Tiger catcher boxed pro in Arkansas and West Virginia including an exh with JJOHNSON before turning to baseball.

Considered the toughest man in the league, he famously gave the 19 yr old Ty Cobb such a beating that it may have been the model for Paul Newman's beating by George Kennedy in that great 60s chain gang movie, the name escapes me at the moment. Can see it on youtube, a true American Classic.

[Rexob]

gary mason turned to rugby after boxing but think it was more of a promotional stunt

Didn't he try and set up arm wrestling in the UK and it went tits up? not sure he actually participated though?

[Rexob]

Flintoff

[littlepug]

gary mason turned to rugby after boxing but think it was more of a promotional stunt

Didn't he try and set up arm wrestling in the UK and it went tits up? not sure he actually participated though?

Yeah he did think he had his fingers in a lot of pies after boxing

[stevedoc]

gary mason turned to rugby after boxing but think it was more of a promotional stunt

Didn't he try and set up arm wrestling in the UK and it went tits up? not sure he actually participated though?

Yeah he did think he had his fingers in a lot of pies after boxing

i see mason a few months before he died and i had lunch with him he was such a nice guy he was was saying he lost his money in a jewellers that his partner had stitched him up ,he was selling records at a market he seemed pretty happy and was very humble .

[cfang]

- Charlie Schmidt a Detroit Tiger catcher boxed pro in Arkansas and West Virginia including an exh with JJOHNSON before turning to baseball.

Considered the toughest man in the league, he famously gave the 19 yr old Ty Cobb such a beating that it may have been the model for Paul Newman's beating by George Kennedy in that great 60s chain gang movie, the name escapes me at the moment. Can see it on youtube, a true American Classic.

cool hand luke

[sweetsci]

Ed "Too Tall" Jones retired from boxing to go back to professional football.

[littlepug]

British heavyweight Adam Forgerty (18-1-0) packed in boxing to play professional rugby league - and had a pretty successful RL career with various clubs thereafter. He got into acting later on as well, and was in the remake of 'Mean Machine' and the Guy Ritchie's 'Snatch' amongst other TV and film appearances.

he was already a pro rugby player before turning to boxing

Adam Fogerty played professional rugby for three clubs (Halifax, St Helens and Warrington) between 1991 and 1998. That was after he was boxing, he was a professional fighter at 18.

I stand corrected, should've known that seeing as he comes from my hometown

[littlepug]

yes he was and his brother was a basketball player

[gregor]

Edward Eagan - olympic medals in boxing (1920) and bobsleigh (1932).

[littlepug]

yes he was and his brother was a basketball player

Right, I never knew that.

Massive bloke, Adam Fogerty though, even as a young lad. Mind you, I saw him on some local news programme a couple of years ago (talking about some business he was running) and he hasn't half put some timber on. Still looked very formidable though.

i made my pro debut in halifax and adam came in the dressing room to wish me well before my fight ( i was a bantam ) and bloody hell he was like a giant compared to me !!!

[palooka]

Edward Eagan - olympic medals in boxing (1920) and bobsleigh (1932).

That's pretty cool