National Football League

Zbikowski set to fight second pro bout

Published Mar. 7, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Say this about Baltimore Ravens safety Tom Zbikowski: His second career as a boxer might be in its infancy, but he has the sport's trash-talking down.

Zbikowski will fight a sanctioned cruiserweight bout Saturday in Las Vegas against Richard Bryant, part of the Miguel Cotto-Ricardo Mayorga undercard.

Zbikowski, 25, was promoting the bout on "The Dan Patrick Show" on FOX Sports Radio on Monday when he was asked which fellow NFL player he would like to fight. He could have cited union solidarity and deflected the question, but he hesitated only momentarily before providing an opponent:

Receiver Chad Ochocinco.

"Ochocinco talks like he can box," Zbikowski told Patrick.

And how long would such a bout last?

"I'd let it go for about 45 seconds," Zbikowski said. "I'd let him know what a real jab feels like."

More accustomed to Twitter jabs, that's where Ochocinco responded. His tweet: "@tommyzbikowski you wana go nite nite, you want to box me, for 1 your feet are to slow and you've no hand speed to even be competitive"

Ochocinco includes boxing training in his workouts, but Zbikowski is no stranger to the real thing. Zbikowski made his professional boxing debut June 10, 2006, while still a player at Notre Dame (and within NCAA regulations). He stopped Robert Bell on a technical knockout 49 seconds into the fight at Madison Square Garden.

Zbikowski, 75-15 as a Golden Gloves fighter, also fought a professional exhibition bout in 2007 before stepping out of the ring to concentrate on football. Now a restricted free agent — the Ravens tendered a contract offer — he is clear to pursue his side job during the NFL labor uncertainty.

He might have a future as a promoter, too. He was quick to respond to Ochocinco's tweet with some specifics on his Facebook page.

"Dear Ocho Cinco . . .," Zbikowski wrote, according to ProFootballTalk.com, "thanks for following my career . . . You and me at M&T Bank Stadium, charity four-round boxing match. You wear Orange and Black and I will wear Purple and black. If we do it in May, that should give you enough time to get ready . . . You game?"