Le'Veon Bell announced on Tuesday that he will not be participating in the NFL this year as he will be concentrating on boxing.

At a news conference organized by Social Gloves to advertise his impending bout against fellow famous running back Adrian Peterson at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on July 30, the running back made the announcement.

"Boxing is something that, as they frequently point out, cannot be played. I nearly took a year off of school last year to attempt to concentrate on boxing since I had a vague idea that was what I wanted to transfer to. I'm aware that this year I won't be playing because I want to concentrate on boxing "Bell, who is 30 years old, remarked.

The three-time Pro Bowl pick was adamant that this wasn't going to be a "one-off" fight.

"This serves as, sort of, my introduction to what I'll be doing and how I'll go about accomplishing it. merely a preamble "said he.

Peterson, who participated in the news conference through a video stream, said he sees a future in boxing but seemed to leave the door open for a possible NFL comeback.

The 37-year-old Peterson said, "I can definitely see myself doing this in the future, depending on how things kind of play out for me.

The fifth-ranked rusher in NFL history with 14,918 yards, the former MVP and seven-time Pro Bowl pick, said there was a ring in his Houston gym.

"We have a lot of guys sparring constantly, and I've had the chance to get in there with those guys in the past a few times, as well as here recently, obviously, getting ready for the fight. I've simply been working hard, so I could see some progress in the future," Peterson added. I'll continue to remain on my game even after this fight, thus

In 2017, Bell's final Pro Bowl campaign, he carried for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 1,291 yards and nine touchdowns. He signed as a free agent with the New York Jets in 2019 after sitting out the whole 2018 season due to a contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers, only to be cut by the team in the middle of the 2019–20 campaign. In the previous two seasons, he rushed for 429 yards for four different clubs.

While Peterson finished his 15th NFL season on injured reserve with the Seattle Seahawks, Bell finished his most recent NFL season, his eighth, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both are unemployed.