Report: Deron Williams to Fight on Paul-Fury Undercard; Frank Gore Potential Opponent

Former NBA All-Star Deron Williams has reportedly agreed to a boxing match on the Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury undercard Dec. 18 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic reported the news Friday and noted longtime NFL running back Frank Gore has emerged as Williams' potential opponent.

Williams played 12 NBA seasons as a member of the Utah Jazz, Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers. He also won two gold medals as a member of the Team USA men's basketball team at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.

The 37-year-old University of Illinois product last played in the NBA during the 2016-17 season, and he's since shifted his focus to combat sports as part owner of Fortis MMA in Dallas.

Sayif Saud, founder and head coach at Fortis, told Greg Rosenstein of The Athletic in December that he's watched Williams run through some MMA sparring sessions and came away impressed.

"He can scrap," Saud said. "He's got a great right hand. A great 1-2, he can wrestle. I think he's a good blue belt on the ground—I mean, a couple stripe blue belt. He doesn't have a blue belt, but I would put him in a blue belt division all day long and bet on him. He's a tough dude."

That powerful right hand figures to come in handy next month.

Meanwhile, Gore hasn't formally retired from the NFL after a 16-year career, which included spending the 2020 season with the New York Jets. He hasn't been signed for the 2021 campaign.

He told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com in September he'd started to train for a potential boxing match while waiting to see if any teams called.

"I've been training for both—football and boxing," Gore said. "I've always loved boxing, so that's what I've been doing. And we're trying to make a fight happen. If we do that, you'll see me in the ring."

Gore, 38, ranks third in NFL history with 16,000 career rushing yards.

It would be the first boxing match for both Williams and Gore. It's unclear whether it would be an officially sanctioned bout or an exhibition.

The main event will feature Paul (4-0), a YouTube content creator, and Fury (7-0), the half-brother of heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury, in a battle of undefeated social media stars.