Yeah that headline is for real.
Two former superstars in their respective team sports will collide in the boxing ring on December 18th in Tampa, FL.
It was announced on Tuesday via press release that NBA veteran Deron Williams and legendary NFL running back Frank Gore will make their respective professional boxing debuts against each other on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury. The fight will be contested at 215 lbs and is scheduled for four rounds (per Ariel Helwani).
Williams is a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Team USA and a three-time NBA All-Star. He was considered one of the top point guards in basketball during his peak years. As noted before, Williams does have a combat sports background dating as far back to his days as a state wrestling champion in middle school. The 37-year-old has trained MMA for years and is co-owner of the Fortis MMA gym in Texas.
Gore is 3rd all-time in NFL history with exactly 16,000 rushing yards. His longevity at the running back position is a rarity, having played from 2005-2020 with five teams . Gore got the bulk of his yards playing for the San Francisco 49ers, and seemingly ended his NFL career playing for the New York Jets last season. The 38-year-old expressed interest in competing in boxing a few months ago and hired Malki Kawa ahead of his pro debut.
The co-feature to Paul vs. Fury is women’s boxing champion Amanda Serrano (41-1-1, 30 KOs) moving up to lightweight for a non-title bout with Miriam Gutierrez (14-1, 6 KOs), whose only loss came against Katie Taylor. It is believed that should they win their respective bouts, a Serrano vs. Taylor superfight could finally materialize in early 2022.
Oh yeah and this card will be on Showtime PPV.