Video: Rajon Rondo Reflects on Ray Allen Boxing Fight During Celtics Tenure
Tyler Conway@@jtylerconway
Featured Columnist IVMay 28, 2024
Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen had a long rivalry during their time as teammates with the Boston Celtics—so much so that they once threw on boxing gloves and went at it in the weight room.
Rondo discussed the brief bout Tuesday during an appearance on Run It Back.
"It wasn't to settle the feud, but we damn sure put the gloves on. ... There was no point in talking about each other behind each other's back, let's just fight as men. But it got broken up pretty quickly," Rondo said.
Run It Back @RunItBackFDTVRajon Rondo and Ray Allen put boxing gloves on and really threw hands 😳<a href="https://twitter.com/RajonRondo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RajonRondo</a>: "There was no point in talking about each other behind each others back, let's just fight as men" <a href="https://t.co/10eTj01SdL">pic.twitter.com/10eTj01SdL</a>
Former Celtics center Kendrick Perkins first revealed the Allen-Rondo fight in 2022.
"The first incident was when Ray was pushing so hard to trade Rondo for CP3, and it got back to Rondo," Perkins said on the Old Man & The Three podcast. "I think right there we started having a little friction, right? We made Ray and Rondo actually box it out. They had so much beef, we got to the practice facility, we brought the boxing gloves, and they actually had to box it out because we just didn't wanna have the tension no more."
TheOldMan&TheThree @OldManAndThree"We made Ray and Rondo actually box it out. They had so much beef." —<a href="https://twitter.com/KendrickPerkins?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KendrickPerkins</a> on the tension between Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo <br><br>Watch the full episode with <a href="https://twitter.com/jj_redick?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jj_redick</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/talter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@talter</a>: <a href="https://t.co/s0iPtO4mk9">https://t.co/s0iPtO4mk9</a> <a href="https://t.co/LKY0dPLkE7">pic.twitter.com/LKY0dPLkE7</a>
Allen and Rondo were teammates in Boston from 2007 to 2012, winning the 2008 NBA championship together.
Perkins said the beef started over Allen's desire to have the Celtics include Rondo in a trade for Chris Paul. Allen, by contrast, said the friction with Rondo began when the Celtics were considering trading him and Rondo to the Phoenix Suns for a package that included Amare Stoudemire.
According to Allen's account of events, then-Celtics general manager Danny Ainge poisoned the well with Rondo and Allen amid those trade rumors.
Allen left Boston in 2012 for the Miami Heat, taking a discount to join the Celtics' fiercest rival in the Eastern Conference at the time. The move created bad blood between Allen and other members of those Celtics teams that existed into their retirements.