Finished scoring touchdowns, Frank Gore scored his first professional knockdown.
Or, rather, knockout.
Gore won his professional boxing debut Saturday by landing a right cross that knocked out Yaya Olorunsola, who fell to the canvas in the fourth round of the co-main event of Gamebred Boxing 1 in Mississippi. Gore shared a video of the final seconds of the fight plus his initial celebration to Twitter, with the caption “Today was a great day!!! Want to thank my team for all the hard work!!” and a praying hands emoji.
Saturday also marked Gore’s 39th birthday, so he had another reason to bask in victory. Olorunsola, 29, is 0-2 in his career.
Gore previously boxed (and lost a split-decision to) former NBA All-Star Deron Williams in an exhibition bout in December. After earning more than $62 million during a 16-year NFL career, he reportedly was paid $300,000 to fight Williams.
As he turns to his future, Gore leaves behind an NFL past that includes 16,000 career rushing yards. Only Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton ran for more. Gore’s final game was with the 2020 Jets but he announced recently that he plans to sign a one-day contract with the San Francisco 49ers and retire as a member of the team with whom he spent his first 10 seasons.
Gore’s boxing career will be under extra scrutiny because an MRI exam he was asked to take by the Florida Athletic Commission prior to fighting against Williams revealed multiple white spots on his brain, according to Yahoo Sports.
There is no clear cause for this and it could be something as simple as aging or a more serious long-term issue after years on the gridiron. Gore and his doctors didn’t seem alarmed by it at the moment. “I was passed [medically] and I talked to the doctors,” Gore said.
He continued. “They all told me there was nothing wrong with me. I have five kids and I want to be there for them. I’m not crazy. Why would I risk my health and watching my kids growing up for $300,000? It’s crazy. My brain is healthy. If it were not, I wouldn’t have fought. Period.”
