The Atlanta Falcons were mere minutes away from a trip to the Super Bowl this postseason. But instead of helping get the Falcons to the big game, defensive end Ray Edwards was busy trying his hand in the boxing ring.
Edwards was released by the Falcons in November after going sackless through nine games, and he has been working on his fighting career ever since. His boxing career started back in May 2011, when he was awarded a unanimous decision after a four-round bout in his professional debut in Hinckley, Minnesota.
He rekindled the profession again this offseason after failing to link on with any teams before the end of the season. In his return bout, on Jan. 25, Edwards knocked out the challenger in just 39 seconds and even called out reigning WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko.
As if that wasn’t enough entertainment value, Edwards’ most recent venture into the squared circle took an even more eventful turn. Just a few seconds into his second fight of the year, Edwards threw a combination of punches and his short, stubby challenger quickly hit the mat. The only issue was that Edwards didn’t land the apparent knockout punch, yet his opponent hit the mat as if Mike Tyson had just thrown a haymaker.
Edwards is now officially 3-0 in his brief boxing career, although Saturday’s win might deserve an asterisk of some sort for the inexplicable flop.
It’s likely that an NFL team will give the 28-year-old defender another shot this offseason. As for his fighting career, any more flopping fishes like the one he fought over the weekend and he might as well kiss that career goodbye.
Check out Edwards’ entire fight and the controversial “knockout” punch below.
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