Former NBA ROY Michael Carter-Williams to make boxing debut

Michael Carter-Williams, the 2014 NBA Rookie of the 12 months, will make his newbie boxing debut Could 29 in New York.

Carter-Williams, 33, will face 36-year-old Sam Khativ in a three-round heavyweight bout on the Leman Ballroom. The occasion, billed because the Broad Avenue Brawl, will increase funds for Bigvision Neighborhood, a nonprofit group devoted to supporting younger adults in restoration from substance abuse.

“[Carter-Williams] got here on my radar about two months in the past,” Ronson Frank of Rebellion Promotions instructed ESPN. “One of many fighters initially who signed as much as combat on the occasion really useful Carter-Williams as any individual who is perhaps , and we have been related. He thought the trigger was actually good, and needed to be part of it.”

Popping out of Syracuse, Carter-Williams was drafted within the first spherical by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013 with the eleventh decide. The 6-foot-5 level guard averaged 16.7 factors, 6.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists and locked up ROY honors as a participant who gave the impression to be a cornerstone for the franchise. Nonetheless, Carter-Williams was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks on the deadline in his sophomore season and went on to play for 5 groups in 5 years, going from Philadelphia to Milwaukee, Chicago, Charlotte and Houston earlier than ending up in Orlando within the 2018-19 season, the place he remained till the tip of his profession.

Carter-Williams performed his final NBA sport in 2023 and formally introduced his retirement in October 2024.

Carter-Williams addressed his departure from the NBA with The Gamers’ Tribune final Could.

“I do not play the what-if sport anymore,” he wrote. “I am at peace with my profession. I’ve had so many accomplishments, and I’ve lived a life larger than I might have dreamed. I’ve met wonderful folks and am capable of give again, which makes me proud. I am grateful for all the pieces. I haven’t got no regrets. I actually do not.”

Carter-Williams ended his profession averaging 10.2 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 4.3 APG.

Frank instructed ESPN that he heard in regards to the former NBA participant coaching in Florida and believes that this will not be a one-off for Carter-Williams.

“All of it is dependent upon how this one goes,” Frank stated. “He’s very prideful, athletic, and I feel he can do effectively as an newbie fighter. If he is going professional, then that is an entire completely different animal. It’s a must to be a world-class athlete to make it within the NBA, and if he has that very same dedication to boxing, alongside along with his pure athletic capability, he has the potential to do effectively.”