Dirk Kuyt boxing career surprises former Liverpool teammate Ryan Babel who says Anfield cult hero is ‘is the nicest guy you will ever meet!’

Dirk Kuyt is set to try his hand at boxing later this year,and someone who knows him better than most, former Liverpool teammate Ryan Babel, is as surprised as anyone.

The ex-Dutch international is due to step into the ring in October, taking part in an event headlined by kickboxing heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven.

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Kuyt, 41, isn’t the first former Premier League star to lace up his gloves, with Patrice Evra and talkSPORT’s very own Jamie O’Hara also undertaking preparations for their boxing debuts.

Meanwhile, former world’s strongest men Eddie Hall and Hafthor Bjornsson headlined a bout in Dubai, which Brit recently claimed was watched by more than 30million people.

Hall and Bjornsson arguably had plenty of pedigree as notorious tough guys but, for Kuyt, there were no signs of such a switch up.

Babel played 160 games alongside the now-retired Kuyt with Liverpool and the Netherlands, more than any other player during his career, with the duo also reaching the World Cup final together in 2010.

The current Galatasaray forward certainly knows his former strike partner well, but even didn’t expect Kuyt to step in the ring, as he told talkSPORT.

“I read about it, I read about it, I saw the headlines,” Babel said.

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“I don’t know how serious I have to take it, but I read some headlines. I haven’t really read the whole article, but let’s see. 

“Sometimes football players they change or they do crazy things once they retire. 

“You have to imagine, all our life playing football and hardly having time to do anything else, now you have all this free time and you can decide what you want.

“If that makes Dirk happy then I’m happy for him. He’s always been a great lad and happiness is important.”

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A cult hero at Anfield and league winner in the Netherlands and Turkey, Kuyt enjoyed a long and storied career, which impressively saw him never sent off in 836 competitive appearances.

And when asked if there were any signs Kuyt was a tough guy in training, Babel’s answer was telling.

“Not at all!” he said.

“Dirk is the nicest guy you will ever meet, so let’s see how that turns out in the boxing ring.”

And he will certainly not be walking alone, with the entire Liverpool fan base behind him.