As if making it to the National Football League or starring in a motion picture weren’t enough for one’s lifetime, Jonathan Hamm can now add boxing national champion to his rapidly-growing resume as he recently won a national title at the 2011 USA Boxing National Championships.
Many may remember Hamm, a former defensive lineman, who played at Clark Atlanta in 2006 and was an All-SIAC first team selection before signing a free agent contract with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints in 2007. After being cut by the Saints, he played two years with the Arena Football League’s New York Dragons.
In 2009, he starred alongside Patton Oswalt (King of Queens and Ratatouille), Kevin Corrigan (Superbad and Grounded for Life), and Michael Rapaport (Higher Learning and Hitch) in the motion picture, Big Fan. Hamm played the role of Quantrell Bishop, a fictional pro football star with NFL’s New York Giants who beat up his biggest fan at a nightclub after he thought he was being stalked. Hamm also starred in a SOBE Super Bowl commercial in 2010.
So how does one go from professional football player to actor and now boxer? Hamm says he was recruited by former college teammate, Natu Visinia, and with his pro football career on the decline he decided it was time for a change. In 2009, he signed with All-American Heavyweights, a boxing management company out of Los Angeles, CA, to help with his transition from football to boxing.
“Coming from a sport like football, you have your teammates to depend on out there on the field but in the boxing ring it’s just you out there by yourself,” says the 6-7, 258-pound Hamm, who trains between Los Angeles and Saint Paul, Minnesota under the guidance of trainer Jamal Abdullah.
The Atlanta, GA native admits that the “nervous energy” that comes from being alone in the ring has been the hardest part of his transition from professional football but says that it has “worked out so far” which is an understatement.
In less than two years in the ring, Hamm has quickly risen through the superheavyweight division. In addition to his recent national title, Hamm’s list of accomplishments includes a third place finish at the 2011 National Golden Gloves, St. Paul Minnesota Region 2 Golden Glove Champion, Upper Midwest Golden Glove Champion, Minnesota State USA Boxing Champion, and North Midwest Region USA Boxing Champion. He is also the number one ranked superheavyweight in the USA Boxing national rankings.
Next for the 27 year-old Hamm is a trip the 2012 Olympic Team Trials which take place July 31st- August 6th in Mobile, AL. As the number one seed in the super heavyweight division at the trials, Hamm will be the odds-on favorite to win the division and make the team that will represent the United States at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Heading into his first Olympic trials, Hamm doesn’t mince his words when he speaking about his goals for the future.
“After I win a gold medal in 2012 in London, I want to win a world championship within three years,” stated Hamm, who has earned the nickname “Beauty Salon” from fellow boxers because of his long dreadlocks.
And after everything that he’s accomplished thus far in his career, no one should doubt that it will happen.