Professional Boxer Turned Poker Champion Leron Washington

Leron Washington made his career for two years as a professional boxer before a lucky break provided him with just the opportunity he needed to pursue an all together different career choice.
The West Virginian boxing pro enjoyed playing the odd game of poker for fun, and one night decided to enter a WPT online poker satellite via online poker room Club WPT.
Leron ended up winning the ‘World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational’ package and March this year headed off to the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles where, on the sidelines of the tournament, he rubbed shoulders with the gathering poker pros and Hollywood celebrities.
As the WPT event got underway, Leron Washington had to contend with a 567 strong field, but two days later found himself along with five other players seated at the final table. The rest, as they say, is history and the $100,000 first place prize, plus a $25,000 WPT Championship seat was just the spur he needed to set him off on his new career path. As Washington explains:
“To win it man it was just like, everything flashed in front of me, right before my eyes in like three seconds, everything that I had worked for since I sat at the first tournament table and to up to that point, I said wow this is it, this is my break.”
Leron Washington has now said he realises that his true “calling” lies in playing poker for a living and that has no intentions of returning back to the boxing ring and messing up his “pretty face,” when he could “probably make millions” playing the game he loves so much, instead.
Highlighting the similarities between boxing and poker, Leron Washington said: “Boxing is a sport where you have to be on your toes at all times and you have to think a lot, but in a small period of time…I knew my skills and I’m a respected poker player…I just needed the opportunity to get out there.”