Aided by the NFL lockout, the defensive end says he's done with the Vikings and aiming for a heavyweight boxing title.
Edwards' new body of work
Article by: MARK CRAIG , Star Tribune
Updated: May 4, 2011 - 10:07 PM
Aided by the NFL lockout, the defensive end says he's done with the Vikings and aiming for a heavyweight boxing title.
Ray Edwards trained at Lifetime Fitness in Lakeville. Edwards who is a free agent after playing defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings is training to be a professional boxer.
Ray Edwards standing in full boxing gear talking about becoming the greatest fighter who ever lived would seem odd if this weren't already the strangest offseason in NFL history.
But here we are in lockout mode. An unsigned 26-year-old pass rusher in the prime of his career is in limbo for who knows how long. Edwards is not allowed to choose his future team and considers his Vikings career over, even if league rules were to declare him a restricted free agent.
"They put a first-round tender on me [a one-year, $2.8 million contract], but even if that holds up, there's no way I will play for less than what my backup got in his new contract," said Edwards, referring to Brian Robison's three-year, $14.1 million deal, which included a $6.5 million signing bonus. "There's no way I would play here."
With millions of dollars riding on the outcome of the NFL's labor battle, Edwards still shrugs and says he "couldn't care less" about the lockout. At the moment, he's a boxer fulfilling a childhood dream.
His goals, however, are serious and astronomical, to say the least. The journey toward them begins with a four-round ring debut at 7:30 p.m. May 20 at Grand Casino Hinckley. He will fight Duluth's T.J. Gibson, a 34-year-old former amateur champion kickboxer who also is making his traditional boxing debut.
Edwards said the fight will go on even if the lockout ends and the league year begins before then. The Falcons reportedly have targeted him as a free agent or a sign-and-trade possibility if he's restricted. That's millions of dollars that could be put on hold for a boxing deal that Edwards said comes with a $5,000 guarantee and 50 percent of the gate.
There's also the injury factor to consider, even though the defensive end will tower over his opponent. Edwards is 6-5 and 255 pounds. Gibson is 5-9 and 210.
