Minnesota Vikings' Ray Edwards training to become a Heavyweight Prizefighter

Too late for Edwards to be a serious pro, but the guy is one of the freakiest athletes in the league and in his prime. He's not going to boxing because he got injured or wasn't good enough to make it. Makes you wonder how guys like him could do if they started training in their early teens instead of early twenties.

Pro NFL players make Horrible Boxers and MMA guys. From watching The Ultimate Fighter and some low level boxing events I have seen tons of former young built HW NFL players that get demolished by some C level MMA Fighters. Their muscle memory and technique is not meant for fighting and they would need to spend years and years changing their technique and training to have some sort of chance. Most of these clowns think "HURR I ARE JACKED I ARE TRAIN 6 MONTHS AND I IZ PRO FIGHTERZ" Just because a dude is huge and jacked doesnt mean anything, time and time again you get these guys who think they are in shape train for 6 months then go into the UFC and get destroyed and gas out. I think Soccer players would have a better foundation for MMA/Boxing than NFL players since their cardio and footwork is 1000x better than NFL players who spend 1 minute on the field and 5 minutes sucking oxygen on the sidelines. You're right for the most part. I can see the strength advantage being helpful in MMA. They would have to really go at it though for a few years before I'd expect them to do anything. Some of these guys aren't big and slow like the guys you saw on Ultimate Fighter either. They are big and athletic. I'm sure a lot of these MMA guys played college football too, I know Forrest Griffin did. Still you have to train a while I think either way.

Please NO! Go to MMA with the rest of the freak shows! http://www.mmasource.com/pictures/JoseCansecoMMA.jpg The guy getting his ass whooped is Jose Canseco. :nonono:

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_16137103?nclick_check=1 Vikings' Ray Edwards turns to boxing to protect himself financially By Jeremy Fowler jfowler@pioneerpress.com Show him the overhand right, Ray. Ray Edwards bounces around an octagon cage, his left jab lightly pounding the gloves of trainer Jeff Warner until the real thunder comes from across Edwards' lengthy chin hair. Pop. About 260 pounds of torque and freakish athleticism thrust into the target. Warner looks to the sidelines, clearly impressed. Edwards keeps bouncing before letting out a "Woooo" after his three-minute round. "On the heels of your feet, that's how you get knocked out," Edwards says between heavy breaths. "Gotta be on your toes." The Vikings' starting defensive end isn't swinging his fists as part of a glorified hobby. His vision for boxing glory expands beyond the confines of Ambition Training Academy in Eagan, where Edwards trains twice a week. By February, Edwards could be preparing for small-circuit amateur fights in Minnesota. Every few months, a new challenger could take him to Las Vegas or Atlantic City. In 18 to 24 months, he'll be a certified heavyweight prizefighter. That's the plan, at least, a sense of insurance if Edwards doesn't get a long-term NFL contract after this season or if the league locks out in 2011. "I'm really invested in this," Edwards, 25, says during a recent workout. "I'm looking forward to the future, whether that's in boxing or football. I don't know where I'll be. When the season ends, I'll start training for boxing heavily." Besides mandatory team weightlifting, practicing, film studying, Bible studying, riding his motorcycle and helping nephew Dominique with homework, Edwards squeezes in a few hours every Monday and Wednesday at Ambition, which specializes in Mixed Martial Arts training. Edwards starts with a 16-pound mallet that he'll pound into a human-size tire about 100 times. He follows with intense core training, works the speed bag and hits the ring with Warner, a former professional boxer and wrestler. The two met at a church speaking engagement about three years ago, and their training schedule has ballooned ever since. Warner, now a pastor in Burnsville, turned Edwards on to Detroit's Kronk Gym, founded by legendary trainer Emanuel Steward. Edwards trained there for a week during the offseason, but he spent most of the past eight months training with Warner in Eagan. Boxing training has helped reduce Edwards' body fat from 15 percent to less than 6 percent, which Edwards says helped fuel his breakout 2009 season of 8 1/2 sacks in the regular season and four in two playoff games. "Boxing is all about keeping a cool head, very much a thinking game," Edwards said. "Every second must be anticipated. It's about balance. It's taught me patience, and it's also given me quicker body strength and core strength, which has helped me on the field tremendously. I'm definitely a better football player because of this." In a dry-fit black shirt, white shorts and black Jordan-brand boxing shoes, Edwards hardly takes breaks between sets. The guy once labeled as a low-motor guy out of Purdue says he can't get enough working out because "I'm a live-in-the-moment guy." Warner is convinced of the boxing future for Edwards. "He's not that far," Warner said. "Eighteen months, and he'll be ready for anything. He's got all the raw talent you'd want in a boxer, and he picks everything up quickly." Boxing has not interfered with Edwards' work with the Vikings, he says, but it's not like the Vikings are tracking his every move away from the field. Edwards calls himself "not one of their high-priority guys" and expects this to be his last season with the Vikings because of the several key free agents looking for contracts. Edwards, Minnesota's fourth-round draft pick in 2006, seeks a long-term deal. In June, he signed a one-year restricted tender for about $2.5 million. "There are too many guys," Edwards said. "Just on defense, they have me, Chad Greenway, Ben Leber. (Brett) Favre won't be here, so they have to find a quarterback. I just don't see it. I don't know where I'm going to be." A big year in 2010 could go a long way toward elevating Edwards to the status of his defensive linemates who often overshadow him in the national spotlight. Defensive end Jared Allen recorded 14 1/2 sacks last season, and Kevin and Pat Williams have been one of the NFL's best interior run-stopping tandems for years. Then there's Edwards, whose performance is starting to catch up with his immense talent. Although he is sackless through two games, his tackle of Saints quarterback Drew Brees two weeks ago appeared to be behind the line of scrimmage, and his pressure of Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne on Sunday opened the lane for an Allen sack. Vikings coaches sent film of his Brees tackle to the NFL for a review, Edwards said. Which he appreciates. Sacks equal potential money, after all. Teammates know what Edwards can do on the field, but what he can do in the ring is another matter. "They've never come to watch me train," he said. "They just joke that I'll get knocked out when I do box. But they'll be surprised to see what I can do. This boxing thing feels inevitable for me." As for Edwards' first fight? Not so easy. "We can't find anybody who wants to get in the ring with him locally," Warner said. "He's pretty scary." Over the years I have seen NFL and others step in to boxing. Most are in great shape and learn some of the skills BUT get KOed as soon as they match them with a real boxer. Boxing is a sport like NO other and most of them learn that in their dressing room after they get up from the stretcher. We get better boxers from the streets than from a Football field.

Pro NFL players make Horrible Boxers and MMA guys. From watching The Ultimate Fighter and some low level boxing events I have seen tons of former young built HW NFL players that get demolished by some C level MMA Fighters. Their muscle memory and technique is not meant for fighting and they would need to spend years and years changing their technique and training to have some sort of chance. Most of these clowns think "HURR I ARE JACKED I ARE TRAIN 6 MONTHS AND I IZ PRO FIGHTERZ" Just because a dude is huge and jacked doesnt mean anything, time and time again you get these guys who think they are in shape train for 6 months then go into the UFC and get destroyed and gas out. I think Soccer players would have a better foundation for MMA/Boxing than NFL players since their cardio and footwork is 1000x better than NFL players who spend 1 minute on the field and 5 minutes sucking oxygen on the sidelines.

I don't know if many here remember Charley Powell, an NFL star back in the 50's (sacked the then defending champ Lions' QB Bobby Layne 10 TIMES in his very first NFL game). Powell shuttled between boxing and football. Fought and lost to Ali (when Ali was Clay) and Floyd Patterson. Reportedly made more money from fighting Ali over three rounds (he was KO'd as Ali predicted) than he ever made playing an entire season in the NFL. In High School, Powell excelled in several sports, i.e., baseball, track, etc. He had a brother named Art who was a 4-time All Star with the Jets (Charlie was with the 49'ers and then with the Oakland Raiders).

As we saw from the Heavyweight Factory guys on FNF a few months back; these guys need to forget boxing. You can't learn this **** in a year or two and be world champion. They'll probably have better luck in MMA.