Former Villanova star Tim Thomas might end bizarre NBA beef in the boxing ring
Could this bizarre, decade-long beef have ended any other way?
It looks like former NBA players Tim Thomas and Kenyon Martin might be taking their long-standing feud to the boxing ring. Could this bizarre, decade-long beef have ended any other way?
While playing for the Knicks during the 2004 playoffs, former Villanova star Thomas was fouled so hard by Nets center Jason Collins that he needed to be taken off the court on a stretcher.
While at the hospital recovering, Thomas said he would be looking to hit someone back when he returned to the court. Asked about Collins' teammate Martin, Thomas famously told reporters that he was "fugazi," a term meaning "fake" popularized in mafia movies and shows such as Donnie Brasco and The Sopranos.
Thomas' criticism of Martin started a bizarre, decade-long beef that reached its peak when Thomas says he slapped Martin in the face with $1,500 in cash after a dust-up at a Dallas nightclub.
Unable to settle their differences after 12 years (and one failed peace offering in the kitchen of former NBA power forward Al Harrington), it looks like Thomas and Collins will settle their beef in the ring.
Rapper 50 Cent took to Instagram to announce that Martin and Thomas will box as part of an undercard to his previously announced Soulja Boy and Chris Brown match that Floyd Mayweather's company is reportedly going to promote.
Thomas couldn't be reached for comment. No date has been set for the event, which will be available to viewers on pay-per-view.
"They got an old beef they want to settle," 50 Cent said of the retired NBA players. "They really need to go ahead and get this [stuff] off their chest."
After averaging 19 points as a freshman for Villanova, Thomas was drafted seventh overall in the 1997 NBA Draft by the Nets before being immediately traded to the Sixers as part of an eight-team deal.
Thomas played 13 seasons in the NBA on nine different teams. He averaged 11 points per game as a Sixers' rookie, but was traded away to the Milwaukee Bucks during a disappointing second season. He retired after the 2010 season while a member of the Dallas Mavericks.