Ex-NBA ROY Carter-Williams to debut in boxing – ESPN
2025-04-22T18:15:00Z
Former NBA ROY Michael Carter-Williams will make his amateur boxing debut May 29 in New York, facing Sam Khativ in a three-round heavyweight bout.
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Michael Carter-Williams, the 2014 NBA Rookie of the Year, will make his amateur boxing debut May 29 in New York.
Carter-Williams, 33, will face 36-year-old Sam Khativ in a three-round heavyweight bout at the Leman Ballroom. The event, billed as the Broad Street Brawl, will raise funds for Bigvision Community, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting young adults in recovery from substance abuse.
“[Carter-Williams] came on my radar about two months ago,” Ronson Frank of Uprising Promotions told ESPN. “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. He thought the cause was really good, and wanted to be a part of it.”
Coming out of Syracuse, Carter-Williams was drafted in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013 with the 11th pick. The 6-foot-5 point guard averaged 16.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists and locked up ROY honors as a player who appeared to be a cornerstone for the franchise. However, Carter-Williams was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks at the deadline in his sophomore season and went on to play for five teams in five years, going from Philadelphia to Milwaukee, Chicago, Charlotte and Houston before ending up in Orlando in the 2018-19 season, where he remained until the end of his career.
Carter-Williams played his last NBA game in 2023 and formally announced his retirement in October 2024.
Carter-Williams addressed his departure from the NBA with The Players’ Tribune last May.
“I don’t play the what-if game anymore,” he wrote. “I’m at peace with my career. I’ve had so many accomplishments, and I’ve lived a life bigger than I could have dreamed. I’ve met amazing people and am able to give back, which makes me proud. I’m thankful for everything. I don’t have no regrets. I really don’t.”
Carter-Williams ended his career averaging 10.2 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 4.3 APG.
Frank told ESPN that he heard about the former NBA player training in Florida and believes that this may not be a one-off for Carter-Williams.
“It all depends on how this one goes,” Frank said. “He is very prideful, athletic, and I think he can do well as an amateur fighter. 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.”
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