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Safety Zbikowski Puts Boxing On Back Burner
With the NFL draft fast approaching Buffalobills.com is profiling some of the more interesting story lines about this year's prospects. These player profiles will run right up until the NFL draft on April 26 and 27.
There aren't many out there who would deny that football is a tough and physically punishing sport. The only person that might get away with calling football anything less than tough might be a boxer. That could present a dilemma for Notre Dame safety Tom Zbikowski since he's both.
Projected to be a third-round pick later this month in the NFL draft, Zbikowski has already turned pro as a boxer. A Chicago-area native Zbikowski had been a Golden Gloves boxer since age 9. His amateur record was an impressive 60-13.
Zbikowski was also a Silver Gloves national finalist for three straight years from 1998-2000 as he earned Regional Boxer of the Year honors. But with boxing in college not really an option, Zbikowski chose football and the Irish.
His professional debut came on June 10, 2006 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and things went well as he knocked out Robert Bell just 49 seconds into the first round.
"It was awesome," said Zbikowski. "It was a good time. I trained so hard for it -- six or seven weeks. Then having 40 teammates coming to support me and another 60 from home, it was definitely one of the better experiences of my life."
But these past few months Zbikowski has been training for his NFL future participating at the combine and at the Notre Dame pro day. Still he feels the preparation is similar to that of boxing.
"It kind of feels the same way," he said. "You practice so long to get ready to perform. It's not like the regular season, where you go week to week and only have a couple days (of workouts). It's something you've built up, you've been waiting for your entire life. I can't wait to get on the NFL field."
Zbikowski didn't go to any of the specialized training camps where player agents send prospects to improve their vertical leaps or 40 times. He relied on his boxing roots and trained solo in his native Chicago.
With boxing such a big part of his life, naturally teams are concerned that it could pull his attention away from football. Zbikowski dismisses it saying it's a non-issue.
"No, not right now," he said of boxing again. "I'm solely focused on football and getting ready for (the NFL). Once you get into minicamp and training camp, you've got to do
everything all you can to make a team."
Saying 'not right now' seems as if he's leaving the door open to boxing, and Zbikowski admits that he is, but just not at this point in his life.
"There's always a possibility," said Zbikowski of boxing again. "I'm never going to take that out. But as long as there's football in my life, it's not going to happen."
If he did return to boxing he wouldn't be the first Golden Domer to spurn a career in football for another professional sport. In fact former Notre Dame teammate Jeff Samardzija is still in the Chicago Cubs system.
"Yeah, I was training with him in December and January, right before he left," said Zbikowski. "He's pretty focused. He made the 40-man roster. Hopefully he can get up to the bigs this year."
Zbikowski, despite his boxing prowess, is hoping for a similar fate in the NFL.
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