Philadelphia star Jaylen Brown added an unexpected chapter to an already eventful offseason on September 8, 2026 in Lagos, Nigeria.
Jaylen Brown is a basketball player for one the top basketball league in the United States. He plays for a team called the Philadelphia 76ers. In September 2026 he did something completely different. He is not a boxer but he decided to try boxing for the first time during the summer break from basketball. He went into the boxing ring with Solomon Imoleayo who is a heavy boxer based in Nigeria.
It was not an official boxing match it is called an exhibition and the sole am aim for this is to show skill and have fun. Even with the friendliness of the match both men threw real punches at each other. Brown landed good punch also he got hit one time in his stomach.
After the match Brown made a post on his socials saying he wasn’t prepared before the match meanwhile nobody was called a winner after the section had ended.
It is no surprise he has the quest for boxing, his father His father, Quenton Brown used to box as his job. He won 33 fights and lost 18 fights. Also he won two championship titles, in 2015 and 2016. His grandfather use to box as well that is to say Jaylen Brown comes from a family of boxers.
He talked about boxing during an event in February 2026.
He said this to the reporters: “I’ve toyed with this and I’ve talked with some people. Maybe after basketball, I’d love to try something like UFC or boxing”.
Brown has also been training in a sport called Muay Thai. He started training in 2023. He started after his team lost an important game, and he wanted a new challenge. This Nigeria match was not Brown’s first time boxing this year. In July 2026, he reportedly boxed someone in Morocco but the Nigeria match was his first time boxing inside a real boxing ring.
What do you think about Jaylen Brown’s decision to box in Nigeria?
