A packed house at the Léman Ballroom in New York City this past Thursday night attended Uprising Promotions' return to action for Broad Street Brawl in association with Bigvision Community. Headlining the show was former NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams, who made a successful amateur boxing debut against Sam Khatib to earn an unanimous decision victory. “Today was good, it was fun,” said Carter-Williams after scoring the win. “I thought my performance was pretty good. I thought I did some good things, but there are definitely some things I need to fix. My opponent was pretty good, too. Sam did a great job out there. Ultimately, we came here for a greater purpose. The two of us did this for charity, so we went out there, raised some money, fought and entertained the crowd. It was a good showing.”

 

Over the course of their three two-minute rounds battle, Carter-Williams and Khatib each showed an aggressive willingness to engage. Carter-Williams found his comfort level early in the match-up, unloading a series of crisp combinations that earned him standing eight-counts from the referee in both the first and second frames. His athleticism and footwork also paid dividends, with Carter-Williams remaining in control throughout most of the confrontation.

 

“I was antsy,” Carter-Williams said of how he was feeling ahead of the fight. “I was like ‘I’ve been putting in all of this work. I’ve been sparring twice a week. I can’t wait to get out there and really fight.’ This was great. I had a great time.”

 

The question everyone had at the conclusion of the bout was whether or not Carter-Williams would be getting back into the ring again soon. “I think you will see me again. I definitely want to improve on some things,” he declared. “I’m a competitor. Who knows where it will be. My kids love it—my wife, my family—so I will definitely be back out there.”

 

Throughout the evening, Broad Street Brawl featured nine amateur bouts as well as an exclusive performance by Yung Wylin’, who had the audience rocking with a dynamic rendition of his hit song, High Energy.