Getty Ex-New York Jets running back Frank Gore working out prior to an NFL game.
One of the faces, for better or worse, of the 2020 season for the New York Jets was Adam Gase’s love for NFL legend Frank Gore.
At 37 years of age, he played his 16th professional season and toted the rock 187 times to the tune of 653 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
After a long run in the NFL, the future Pro Football Hall of Famer is changing sports.
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Can an Old Dog Learn a New Trick?
It’s official Gore will be flipping from football to boxing.
He will be appearing on the undercard of the Jake Paul versus Tommy Fury main event on December 18 in Tampa, Florida. Gore will be squaring up against former NBA point guard Deron Williams.
It will be the professional boxing debuts for both former professional athletes. This fight will be a four-round competition and the weight class is set at 215 pounds.
Gore’s playing weight in the NFL was 212 pounds while Williams playing weight was 200 pounds in the NBA.
What you may not know is both athletes have been dabbling in the fighting world for quite some time.
The longtime NFL’er has been training in the boxing ring for years and has spent the last few months actively training in the ring in anticipation of a big-time fight and this was the perfect opportunity.
While the longtime NBA’er has been a combat sports fan for years and is actually an owner of a mixed martial arts gym based in Texas. With those close ties, Williams has been training in MMA and now will have a chance to put it to the test.
NFL on Hold for the Foreseeable Future
While Gore will turn his attention to boxing, he had a chance to play a 17th professional season in the NFL but turned down those opportunities.
He was focused on this fight and “actually declined advances from NFL teams this season”, per ESPN.
There is still a chance he could return to the gridiron in 2022, but it seems more likely than not that his hall of fame career in football is over.
If that ends up being true, then he will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the class of 2026 (five years after his final season).
Gore has 16,000 career rushing yards which currently ranks third-best all-time only behind Emmitt Smith (18,355) and Walter Payton (16,726).
In his 16 year NFL career he has played for five different organizations:
- San Francisco 49ers (2005 through 2014)
- Indianapolis Colts (2015 through 2017)
- Miami Dolphins (2018)
- Buffalo Bills (2019)
- Jets (2020)
While Gore was never considered one of the best backs in football, the thing that stands out from his career is his insane durability and longevity. He has had nine 1,000 yard campaigns, over 200 carries 12 times in his career, and has just been a pillar of consistency.
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