Why Denzel Washington Didn’t Want to Box After ‘The Hurricane’

Actor Denzel Washington brushed up on his boxing after starring in the biographical film The Hurricane. But while practicing, an uncomfortable incident inspired Washington to put down the gloves for good.

What made Denzel Washington stop boxing in ‘The Hurricane’

Washington has been pretty active in the sport of boxing for quite some time. In The Hurricane, he was able to utilize both his boxing and acting skills in the feature. The film saw the Oscar winner play Rubin Carter, who was a professional boxer wrongfully accused of murder.

And although Washington was already well-versed in boxing, Hurricane would see him take his normal routine to another level. He found himself actually sparring with other trained boxers for the film. The experience, however, actually discouraged him from boxing due to the real-life injuries he risked sustaining.

”I remember I was with Michael Spinks, the ex-light-heavyweight champ,” Washington once said on Letterman (via Contact Music). “I was preparing for the film The Hurricane and we were actually sparring, not me and Spinks but me and another guy … and I started getting a little slower and headaches and I said to Michael, ‘I’m starting to get headaches,’ and he said, ‘Oh you’ll get used to that.’ And that’s when I stopped. I don’t want to get used to that.’”

How boxing has helped Denzel Washington with other films

His experience sparring on the set of Hurricane didn’t discourage Washington away from boxing completely. He continued to practice the art for a number of years, benefiting from the sport’s physical affects on his body. Boxing has helped him in movies like The Book of Eli, where he played a character skilled in martial arts. Because of Washington’s prior training, he was able to adapt to his character’s abilities quickly.

“There’s one scene in here where I fight about six guys and another where I fight I think 15 guys and we shoot it all in one shot,” Washington once told Collider. “But you know, we were fortunate – I’m fortunate number one to work with some of the top not only stunt fight guys [like Jeff Amata], but also who has trained under one of the true masters in martial arts, Danny Inosanto. Danny Inosanto and Bruce Lee came up together and [Jeff] was a discipline of Danny Inosanto so we started working a good, I don’t know, five or six months ago. [But] I box; I’ve been boxing for 15 years so I was able to bring my boxing skills to the martial arts, swordplay skills so it was intense, but it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it.”

Washington also credited boxing for keeping him fit even in his older years.

“I have a quick twitch, I’m fast anyway, I have fast hands and fast feet and boxing keeps you young,” he once told The Herald. “You twitch muscles and develop that style. I will be boxing in the morning, I’ve been boxing for more than 30 years.”

Denzel Washington quipped he could knock out Sylvester Stallone in a boxing match

In another interview with Letterman, Washington revisited the training he endured for The Hurricane. During the segment, he was asked how he thought he’d fair against Sylvester Stallone. Stallone also knew what it was like getting into boxing shape thanks to his Rocky movies. But Washington seemed confident that he’d be able to take on the Rambo star.

“Maybe wrestling, maybe if he got a grip on me,” Washington quipped. “But boxing, no, I’d knock him out.”