Deron Williams has just come out of retirement, but not to play ball on the court instead give it all out in the boxing ring.
Deron Williams and Frank Gore will face off in Florida on Saturday night (December 18) as the undercard to Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley.
The match was highly competitive and entertaining to watch for basketball, football and boxing fans alike. Williams was hailed and criticized during a prefight conference on Thursday, as NBA players are known soft.
The match ended in a split decision (38-37, 37-38, 40-35) favoring Williams. When interviewed after the match, he went on to say …
“I always was a physical point guard,” Williams said after the fight. “I never shied away from contact, and I showed that today. People think basketball players are soft, but I never was one. That’s what I was looking to accomplish here today.”
WHAT A FIGHT!@DeronWilliams takes down Frank Gore via split decision in a war 🔥#WilliamsGore | Order #PaulWoodley ➡️ https://t.co/K8evGXftD4 pic.twitter.com/0RVlVR2HMx
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) December 19, 2021
The match was on full display as two traded punches in a total of 48-39 and power punchers of 35-28, as per CompuBOx.
“Maybe I gained some new fans, but I’m just glad I made my team happy and my family proud,” Williams said. “My mom was nervous. She didn’t want to watch and see her son beaten up, so I hope she was proud of that.”
The highlight of the night came during the second round, as things heated up between the two. The match was beginning to become filled with shoves and corners through the ropes. During the bout, physicians had to check on Gore by the ringside as he fell to the apron, but he was soon cleared to continue.
Frank Gore went on to say…
“It’s all good,” Gore said. “He won the fight tonight. He fought hard. I fought hard. I just still have to learn some stuff. He did a good job tonight. We’ll see if I fight again. I had fun tonight. I’ll go back and talk to my team to see what’s next.”
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