Tom Zbikowski at the Ravens 2009 Training Camp. |
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| No. 28 Baltimore Ravens | |
| Safety | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: May 22, 1985 | |
| Place of birth: Park Ridge, Illinois | |
| Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | Weight: 196 lb (89 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College: Notre Dame | |
| NFL Draft: 2008 / Round: 3 / Pick: 86 | |
| Debuted in 2008 for the Baltimore Ravens | |
| Career history | |
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| Roster status: Active | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 16, 2011 | |
| Tackles | 88 |
| Sacks | 1.0 |
| Interceptions | 2 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
Thomas Michael Zbikowski (born May 22, 1985) is an American football safety for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League, and an occasional professional boxer. He was drafted by the Ravens in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football for the University of Notre Dame from 2003 to 2007.
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Thomas Michael Zbikowski was born on May 22, 1985 in Park Ridge, Illinois, the youngest of four children born to Edmund Richard Zbikowski and Susan Lois (née Schatz) Zbikowski. His siblings are Kristen Nicole Zbikowski, Edmund Joseph "E. J." Zbikowski and Stephen Zbikowski, who died in infancy in 1980. He is of Polish descent on his father's side of the family and of German descent on his mother's side of the family. He grew up in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He attended Greenbrier Elementary School and Thomas Middle School in Arlington Heights, Illinois and then high school at Buffalo Grove High School in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. He graduated from Buffalo Grove in 2003. He played youth football with the Buffalo Grove Bills during elementary and middle school. At Buffalo Grove High School, he played quarterback where he set the school records in scoring (202 total points), and rushing (2357 yards, 7.4 average, 32 tds) before becoming a defensive back as well.
He went to the University of Notre Dame. At Notre Dame, he had a very productive collegiate career. He was an all-independent safety for 2 of his 4 years.
On June 10, 2006, Zbikowski made his professional boxing debut at Madison Square Garden in New York City, beating his opponent, Robert Bell of Akron, Ohio, by TKO within 49.0 seconds of the first round. The fight was compliant with NCAA guidelines. Bell, who is an Ohio State fan, wore an Ohio State football jersey into the ring. He signed a three-fight contract and has one fight left. Zbikowski boxed a three-round exhibition fight against Ryan St. Germain on March 2, 2007 at the Century Center in South Bend, Indiana. After the 2008 NFL season he decided to put his boxing career on hold to focus on football.
On March 12, 2011, Zbikowski returned to the ring for the first time since 2007, taking on 1-2 35-year-old Richard Bryant in Las Vegas, amidst ongoing NFL labor contract discord.[1] Zbikowski won by TKO after 1 minute 45 seconds in the first round of the scheduled four-round fight.[2]
After that, he trained under the instruction of his new trainer Emanuel Steward,[3] an inductee both of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame, and won via a unanimous decision at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on March 26, 2011 to extend his winning streak to three in a row.[4][5]
He extended his win streak to 4-0 in a first-round knock out against Blake Warner at the Winstar Casino in Thackerville, Okla. on April 23, 2011.[6] After testing positive for a substance in marijuana, he was suspended. After taking a second test, his suspension was lifted. Bob Arum said, "I think that the commission did the right thing by lifting the suspension... The tests that were taken were very unreliable. Now Tommy has taken a proper test, and as a result, you know that he's clean. So they did the right thing." [7]
| 4 Wins (3 knockouts), 0 Losses 0 Draws 0 No Contest[1] | |||||||
| Res. | Record | Opponnent | Type | Rd., Time | Date | Location | Notes |
| Win | 4-0 | Blake Warner | KO | 1 (4), 2:20 | 2011-04-23 | WinStar Casino, Thackerville, Oklahoma | |
| Win | 3-0 | Caleb Grummet | UD | 4 (4) | 2011-03-26 | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| Win | 2-0 | Richard Bryant | TKO | 1 (4), 1:45 | 2011-03-12 | MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| Win | 1-0 | Robert Bell | TKO | 1 (4), 0:49 | 2006-06-10 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York | Zbikowski's Professional debut. |
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