Deron Williams is on the verge of becoming the latest NBA player to appear in a boxing ring. Williams will go toe-to-toe with another athlete, longtime NFL running back Frank Gore, on the undercard on the upcoming pay-per-view headlined by a bout between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury on Dec. 18.
One of the recent events pitting Paul against someone included a matchup with Nate Robinson last year, which ended with a Paul victory by knockout in the second round thanks to a right that caught Robinson cleanly and sent him to the mat. Plenty of folks in the basketball world got jokes off at his expense, while Robinson said a number reached out in the aftermath.
During his press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Williams alluded to that fight and made clear that his history with combat sports is a bit different than Robinson’s, and as a result, he’s optimistic he will not suffer a similar fate.
“I watched it. I’m not Nate Robinson. I think I have a little more experience than Nate,” Williams said, per Eric Woodyard of ESPN. “I’ve been training stand-up and boxing for 8-10 years. I’ve sparred against high-level UFC guys that are bigger than me, that are my size and that are smaller than me, so, I think I’m a little more prepared than Nate was for that fight. And I don’t think anybody really respected Jake Paul at the time as a fighter, but obviously things are changing.”
The four-round fight features Williams, who has a six-inch height advantage, as a -225 favorite. However, Gore had 742 yards from scrimmage for the New York Jets last year, while Williams last appeared in the NBA in 2017.
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