(RADIO.COM Sports) Former NFL receiver Brandon Marshall sounds ready to begin his boxing career, and he wants his first opponent to be former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.
Marshall, who played for the Bears from 2012-'14, bristled with confidence in a recent interview with TMZ Sports, claiming that he can “outclass” Wilder.
“Deontay Wilder, I’m gonna outbox him, I’m gonna outclass him, if I ever get the chance,” Marshall said.
Marshall is serious about his boxing and has called on former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield to be his mentor. Holyfield compared Marshall to Wilder recently, but Marshall believes he's different.
“You can’t compare me to Deontay Wilder, I’m not Deontay Wilder,” he said. “Deontay Wilder, obviously, we know him for his power. He’s a freak athlete. But what I’d say, I would challenge Deontay Wilder to dive a little deeper into the sweet science, and that’s where I think I separate myself from a lot of these heavyweights.”
Marshall, 36, is similar in stature to Wilder though. A former six-time Pro Bowl receiver, Marshall stands at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds while Wilder, 35, is 6-foot-7 and was listed at 231 pounds in his last fight – which was a year ago against Tyson Fury.
Wilder lost that fight, the lone blemish on his 42-1-1 record. He has no scheduled fights now, and Marshall said he wants to fight by September or he'll retire before stepping foot in the ring.
“No, I don’t have a win under my belt or a loss or a knockout," Marshall said. "But at the end of the day, I know how to fight. I know how to box. I know the sweet science.
"If it doesn’t happen, I’m just gonna move on to other things because I’m tired of chasing these guys.”
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