Early Odds Call Out Deron Williams As Favorite Vs. Frank Gore

Some people have already made their pick in the Deron Williams-Frank Gore fight.

Oddmakers believe that former NBA point guard Williams is most likely to beat former NFL running back Gore when they don the boxing gloves in a sanctioning pro boxing match scheduled for December 18 at AMALIE Arena in Tampa.

They will feature in a four-round heavyweight bout capped at 215 pounds.

Williams, 6’3”, is a three-time NBA All-Star and two-time Olympian.

He hovered around the 200-pound mark over his 14-year pro career. On the flip side, Gore is 5’9”. He is a legendary NFL running back who weighed in between 210lbs to 215lbs during his 16-year pro career.

The reason Williams has got the oddsmakers back is his MMA background.

The NBA star was a championship wrestler as a pre-teen in West Virginia before he became an All-American basketball player at his high school and college. He has been regular at his gym since 2015.

“Combat sports have been a part of my life since my youngest days. Before I was a basketball player, I was a wrestler,” the basketball legend said in a recent interview.

“Since 2015, I have had the privilege of owning an MMA gym, and through that, I have trained in various martial arts to stay active. Over the last year, I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to translate my training into a professional debut.”

Gore is 38 and Williams turned 37 this year. The real test for both men will be to live up to the conditioning that boxing demands.