Jaylen Brown found a new way to grab the internet’s attention this week, and it had nothing to do with basketball. The former Celtics star, now with the 76ers, went viral on Thursday after showing up in Nigeria and stepping into a boxing ring.
Brown was seen competing with full headgear on, and in Instagram comments he said he did “0 prep for this,” after taking on the challenge of boxing someone in another country. It was a strange-looking moment for a player who has already made plenty of noise away from the court, from his public feud with Stephen A. Smith after Boston’s playoff exit last season to other sharp comments that have kept him in the spotlight.
The fight itself was tied to one of Brown’s charity initiatives, which made it look more like light sparring than a true brawl. Still, the sight of him boxing competitively in Nigeria was enough to send basketball fans into a frenzy, especially with Brown yet to play a single game for Philadelphia.
Brown’s interest in combat sports isn’t coming out of nowhere. His father, Quenton Marselles Brown, is a former WBU heavyweight champion, and Brown has also trained in Muay Thai. He’s already talked openly about wanting to explore a fight career after basketball.
“To be honest, I've toyed with this and I've talked to some people,” he said in February. “Maybe post part of my career, I'd love to partake in something like UFC or even boxing.
I've talked to Dana White about some stuff, but we'll see as things go on. We'll see.”
Not everyone watching from the 76ers side was thrilled by the stunt, either. With Brown expected to debut in a little over a month, some fans worried about the risk of an offseason injury.
“He has temped fate way too many times this offseason,” one wrote on X. “Let’s just be ready to throw the ball up.”
Another added, “There’s no way this is allowed in his NBA contract.”
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