NBA: Kobe Bryant Was Down To Hang In 'The Hood,' Former Boxing Champ Says

A former boxing champ said Kobe Bryant was always down to hang with him in the hood.

Last Jan. 26, legendary NBA player Bryant died in a helicopter crash at the hills of Calabasas, California. His sudden death is still being mourned by his fellow NBA stars and in fact, even the world of combat sports was saddened by the tragic news.

Zab Judah, a former two-division boxing champ, has recently expressed his devastation about Bryant’s untimely death. In an interview with Elie Seckbach of EsNews, Judah revealed that he and Bryant used to hang out with each other in LA. During his playing years, Bryant didn’t really have a lot of friends from boxing. Apparently, Judah happened to be a few of them. The 42-year-old boxing legend even referred to Bryant as “a friend of mine.”

“Last time I’ve seen him we were down at South Beach. We kicked it like the good ol’ days. He always had good spirit,” Judah said of Bryant.

Judah then continued that unlike other sports personalities and celebrities who are in “their caliber” wouldn’t want to hang with him in the hood. But as per Judah, Bryant was an exception.

“I’m always in the hood and in the places that a lot of celebrities in my caliber don’t go but Kobe was like ‘what’s up? Let’s pull up!’” Judah revealed.

Last year, Judah himself also came close to death. He was in coma after incurring serious brain damages due to extensive trauma of the brain from boxing. Fortunately, Judah survived and was given a second chance. In the end, the former champ sent his final message to Bryant and said: “See you on the other side when it’s my time.”

An even more famous boxing personality also had some interesting encounters with Bryant. Eight-division title holder Manny Pacquiao himself once met the Lakers legend and what happened next was something Freddie Roach will never forget.

Shortly after Bryant’s death, Roach recalled the day the NBA superstar spent some time with his iconic fighter. During the NBA lockout in 2011, Bryant visited his Wild Card Boxing Club and witnessed how excited the Filipino legend was.

“He (Pacquiao) went crazy when Kobe came in that day. That was unbelievable. It was the best day of his life, I think,” Roach recalled.

Roach also revealed that Pacquiao took the opportunity to ask Bryant to give him some basketball tips during the one of a kind encounter.