You must have seen Steve Harvey, 67, on TV amazing fans with his perfect comedic timing while hosting the widely popular TV show ‘Family Feud.’ But very few know the man with the picture-perfect mustache spent some time in the squared circle. Before the Welch, West Virginia native became the king of comedy, he wasn’t cracking jokes, he was throwing punches. 

Born Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr., the comedian, television host, actor, writer, and producer has had many roles before achieving stardom. But Harvey was destined for one thing—greatness on television. After all, he was named after actor Broderick Crawford of the TV series Highway Patrol. Regardless, we will explore his brief career in the art of pugilism and why he left it.

Steve Harvey’s early life and the start of his boxing career

Born on January 17th, 1957, in Welch, West Virginia, Harvey was the youngest of his five siblings from a working-class family. Harvey had a typical family, with his father, Jesse Harvey, who earned the bread working as a coal miner. Meanwhile, Harvey’s mother, Eloise Vera, looked after the family and household. 

Despite the confident and charming man he is today, his early life was marred by struggle, especially because he suffered from severe stuttering as a child. He would eventually overcome the challenge with sheer determination. But before he did that, more hardships had shaped his mindset into what it is today. 

In his sixth-grade classroom, Harvey declared he wanted to be on television, but he was met with ridicule because of his stutter. His teacher had dismissed his dream because of his speech impediment. This moment left a lasting impression on Harvey, fueling his drive to prove his doubters wrong.

Decades later in the Hey Steve segment of his daytime show, speaking to an audience member with the same affliction, Harvey said, “What makes you stutter, is the anticipation that you’re going to stutter… that’s the one thing therapists don’t know.” Regardless, Harvey’s family later relocated to Cleveland, Ohio, where they lived on East 112th Street, which was later renamed to Steve Harvey Way in his honor in 2015.

Harvey graduated from Glenville High School in 1974, and soon afterward, he pursued various paths in life. Despite enrolling at Kent State University, he left without graduating at that time. Before his rise to fame, he took various jobs, from carpet cleaning to mail delivery. In fact, he worked as an autoworker, an insurance salesman, a carpet cleaner, and a mailman. 

It was during this time when Harvey also ventured into boxing, a sport that honed his discipline and determination. Although not widely publicized compared to his later comedic and television career, his time as a boxer added another layer to his multifaceted journey. The skills he cultivated during his time as a boxer, later helped lay the foundation for his success in the TV industry.

Steve Harvey reveals the real reason he quit boxing

The main reason Harvey’s boxing past has managed to stay out of the limelight is that he doesn’t speak about it much. In a rare glimpse into his brief career as a boxer, the Emmy Award-winning entertainer opened up about his boxing past during a 2020 taping of ‘Family Feud.’ 

He was asked why he gave up the sport, which also could have propelled his career into stardom. The man with the 10/10 mustache didn’t hold back, delivering his answer with the humor fans have come to know him for. “I didn’t quit boxing, a Puerto Rican stopped me from boxing. There’s a f**king difference,” he said. 

“I didn’t stop. The Puerto Rican hit me harder than I have ever been hit in my f**king life. That M*****f***er hit me so hard, not only did I not know who I was or where I was. That f**ker hit me so hard, I thought I was a white girl.” While Harvey may not talk about his boxing career much with the public, he talks about it with his family. 

It even inspired Harvey’s son Jason to take up boxing classes as a teenager. However, an impromptu sparring match at home quickly put Jason in his place. “I’ve always told my sons, ‘I’m the heavyweight champ of this house,'” Harvey once joked in a YouTube video. 

That being said, despite never going pro, Harvey has remained a die-hard boxing fan. From attending the Floyd Mayweather–Conor McGregor fight in 2017 to hosting boxing legends like Evander Holyfield and Sugar Ray Leonard on his shows, Harvey’s love for the sport is undeniable. What did you think of Steve Harvey’s boxing past?