NEW YORK – Former NBA guard Michael Carter-Williams will make his amateur boxing debut May 29 at the Léman Ballroom in New York City, according to reports.
The 6-foot-5, 190-pound Carter-Williams, 33, will square off against Sam Khativ, 36, in a three-round heavyweight bout billed as the “Broad Street Brawl,” according to Uprising Promotions. The event will raise funds for Bigvision Community, a New York-based nonprofit that “supports young adults in recovery from substance use,” according to its website.
Ronson Frank of Uprising Promotions said Carter-Williams “came on my radar about two months ago” as he was training as a boxer in Florida.
“One of the fighters initially who signed up to fight at the event recommended Carter-Williams as somebody who might be interested, and we were connected,” Frank told ESPN. “He thought the cause was really good, and wanted to be a part of it.”
Frank said Carter-Williams’ future as an amateur boxer “depends on how this one goes.”
“He is very prideful, athletic, and I think he can do well as an amateur fighter,” Frank said. “If he’s going pro, then that’s a whole different animal. You have to be a world-class athlete to make it in the NBA, and if he has that same dedication to boxing, along with his natural athletic ability, he has the potential to do well.”
Carter-Williams, the 2014 NBA Rookie of the Year, played nine seasons in the NBA from 2013-23. A collegiate star at Syracuse, Carter-Williams was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, 11th overall, in 2013. He played his first season-and-a-half with the 76ers before also playing for the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Charlotte Hornets, Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic.
For his career, Carter-Williams averaged 10.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 25.2 minutes across 395 games, including 217 starts.
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