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Michael Carter-Williams wins in boxing debut
Michael Carter-Williams is undefeated in his new athletic venture. The 2013-14 NBA Rookie of the Year was successful Thursday night in his amateur boxing debut, battering Sam Khativ in a three-round heavyweight contest en route to a decision win at Broad Street Brawl in New York.
Michael Carter-Williams has traded in jump shots and chest passes for jabs and body blows -- he's a boxer now -- and he tells TMZ Sports he's gunning for a knockout in his first time on the mat later this month!! The ex-NBA star -- the 11th overall pick in the 2013 draft -- has formally made the transition to the fight game since the end of his hooping career ... and his first official match will go down at the Broad Street Brawl on May 29 at the Leman Ballroom in New York.
Despite his relative newness to the sport, MCW told us his goal is a KO -- explaining, "I know they're going to come in and try and knock me out, so that's what I'm doing!" As for his plans for after, he said he'll be looking for more future bouts -- though he totally ruled out a return to the hardwood.
Michael Carter-Williams to begin boxing career next month
Chris Mannix: Former NBA guard Michael Carter-Williams will make his amateur boxing debut on May 29th in New York, per Uprising Promotions. Carter-Williams, the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2014, last played in the NBA in 2023.
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Damian Lillard on boxing being part of his offseason regime: 'It's good for your legs'
He not only watches and attends fights, but has relationships with trainers, fighters and promoters. It was only natural that boxing would become a part of the basketball player’s regular offseason regimen. “It’s good for your legs, just strengthening your body,” Lillard said. “You gotta keep your hands up. You gotta move. I think it’s good for that. It’s good for your conditioning.
"I really do it to just free myself a little bit. And for self-defense purposes. The world we live in today, man, you gotta be able to properly defend yourself and protect yourself. I think for all of those reasons — the conditioning, the challenge that it is for you mentally, strengthening your body, but obviously being able to properly defend myself. "Putting my kids in here and letting them learn that, too, and building up that discipline and that confidence just as a person. That’s really it.”
He said the physical aspects of boxing don’t translate much to the court — that is what his weight and skills training is for — but he prides himself on his mental fortitude and ability to finish games. This is what he gleans most from the sweet science. “At the end, people say you can’t turn on a switch and turn off a switch,” he said. “but I think it is possible to just know how to rise to the occasion just by not having fear of the consequence because you’ve trained your mind to be ready for it, you know? “I think a lot of my training has that in it.”
Clutch Points: Damian Lillard getting some boxing work in 🥊 (via @Dame_Lillard) pic.twitter.com/D4YLCGS1h0
Damian Lillard getting some boxing work in 🥊
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 17, 2023
(via @Dame_Lillard)pic.twitter.com/D4YLCGS1h0
Molly Morrison: dillon brooks waiting for his teammates in the tunnel with boxing gloves after getting ejected, this man is not real lmao
dillon brooks waiting for his teammates in the tunnel with boxing gloves after getting ejected, this man is not real lmao pic.twitter.com/wpocPrYI6g
— Molly Morrison (@mollyhannahm) September 6, 2023
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San Antonio boxing great “Jesse” James Leija’s 17-year, Hall of Fame career included bouts against foes who had a substantial edge on him in height and reach. “Oscar De La Hoya was 5-11, 5-10, and he had the longest reach on me,” said Leija, who stands 5-foot-5. But in terms of “tale of the tape,” nobody compared to the opponent Leija squared off with last week, Spurs 7-foot-3 rookie Victor Wembanyama. “Victor probably beat Oscar by two feet,” Leija said. “Someone was asking me, 'How did you do it?' I told him, ‘I had my arms straight up. Plus, I was wearing the Pee Wee Herman (platform) shoes. But my arms were straight up in the air and they were just barely at his eye level."
Continuing a time-honored tradition for Spurs players that began with Tim Duncan more than 20 years ago, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft is training with the former world champion. “I was shocked he was going to work out with us,” Leija said of Wembanyama. “I didn’t think he would ever do it because he is new and they want to make sure nothing happens to him. But, nah, he was ready. We wrapped him up and he took to it so fast. I was amazed at how fast he picked it up, his skill level."
Adding some toughness to Wembanyama's game is important after Spurs coach Gregg Popovich noted on draft night in June that the gangly 19-year-old Frenchman "because of all the hype" will "have a target on his back." "If we can get him thinking, 'Man, I will take everybody on, come on,' and to just have that mental attitude of, 'Come on, bring it toward me. Come on, you think I am easy? Come on, bring it.' You have to have that in any sport to be one of the best," Leija said.
Floyd Mayweather, Jake Paul confrontation after Cavs-Heat game
Floyd Mayweather and Jake Paul came face-to-face in Miami after the Heat game Wednesday night ... the legendary boxer and a group of men confronted the Problem Child -- before JP booked it from the area. The incident happened after the Heat-Cavs game in south Florida ... when Mayweather rolled up on Paul, who appeared to have a lone security guard with him at the time.
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