Gill Following His 'Other' Dream
TUE June 21, JULIUS STECKER - After 15-years in the NBA, 37-year old Kendall Gill finds himself a prospect in the fight game. Gill has done more then most people could ever imagine, earning millions of dollars, trading jumps shots against Michael Jordan and playing in a NCAA Final Four.
So many would ask, why is the Chicago, Illinois native pursuing a career in boxing after a decade plus of excellence on the court? Why would anybody in his position want to risk his health, while making a minimal purse, by stepping inside the squared circle? Gill will tell you it's out of respect for the game and respect for his dream to always be a professional fighter.
TalkingBoxing.com caught up with Kendall Gill before he throws his proverbial hat into the pugilistic art of prize fighting.
“The thing I feel changed is my body feels sore from running 5 miles a day. Also I am not lifting all those weights anymore. I am just doing push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups and other boxing orientated exercises. I have always had a fast metabolism so my body is coming along nicely,” explained Gill about the changes from NBA training to fight training.
Gill is already down from 220 to 197 pounds, well under the cruiserweight limit of 200 pounds for his debut against Trevor Biley, 0-1, at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago this Saturday night.
Gill scored almost 13,000 points in an excellent NBA career, coming into the league in 1990 as an exciting scorer out of the University of Illinois. He could slash with the best guards in the NBA and he also was known for his tough defense often drawing the other teams best offensive player. But now he has entered a game where there will be no help from a teammate if he gets beat because of poor footwork.
Instead of taking an elbow to the chest from the Pistons' Ben Wallace, he will be taking a gloved fist to face from some hungry fighter, looking to pay his electricity bill with his purse for the nights work. Gill knows exactly what he is getting into.
“I still need to work on everything, I am going to be taller then most of my opponents, but I am not experienced enough to just go in there and brawl,” stated Gill, who stands at 6'5.
Kendall has been working with some Chicago’s best fighters, namely heavyweight contender Fres Oquendo, Freddie Cuevas, David Diaz, and also Ultimate Fighting Challenge champion Andrei Arlovski. So there is not a shortage of wisdom being passed along to Gill.
After this fight, Gill plans on fighting one more time this summer. After hopefully going 2-0, he plans on resuming his NBA career for a final season, then resuming his boxing career next year. According to him, this experience has already helped.
“Boxers are the hardest working and most respectable gifted athletes on the face of the earth. I have nothing but respect for all fighters. This experience has been a spiritual and mental journey for me. I feel that I have my edge back. After playing so many years in the NBA you lose your edge, I think about 8 years in I lost mine. I had lost it, but now I feel I have it back,” said Gill. “It has always been a vision of mine, for 20 years now, to be professional boxer. I have replayed this moment a thousand times in my head, ever since I was little. I plan on coming out there, and I plan on being a professional, and I plan on coming in to win.”
TUE June 21, JULIUS STECKER - After 15-years in the NBA, 37-year old Kendall Gill finds himself a prospect in the fight game. Gill has done more then most people could ever imagine, earning millions of dollars, trading jumps shots against Michael Jordan and playing in a NCAA Final Four.
So many would ask, why is the Chicago, Illinois native pursuing a career in boxing after a decade plus of excellence on the court? Why would anybody in his position want to risk his health, while making a minimal purse, by stepping inside the squared circle? Gill will tell you it's out of respect for the game and respect for his dream to always be a professional fighter.
TalkingBoxing.com caught up with Kendall Gill before he throws his proverbial hat into the pugilistic art of prize fighting.
“The thing I feel changed is my body feels sore from running 5 miles a day. Also I am not lifting all those weights anymore. I am just doing push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups and other boxing orientated exercises. I have always had a fast metabolism so my body is coming along nicely,” explained Gill about the changes from NBA training to fight training.
Gill is already down from 220 to 197 pounds, well under the cruiserweight limit of 200 pounds for his debut against Trevor Biley, 0-1, at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago this Saturday night.
Gill scored almost 13,000 points in an excellent NBA career, coming into the league in 1990 as an exciting scorer out of the University of Illinois. He could slash with the best guards in the NBA and he also was known for his tough defense often drawing the other teams best offensive player. But now he has entered a game where there will be no help from a teammate if he gets beat because of poor footwork.
Instead of taking an elbow to the chest from the Pistons' Ben Wallace, he will be taking a gloved fist to face from some hungry fighter, looking to pay his electricity bill with his purse for the nights work. Gill knows exactly what he is getting into.
“I still need to work on everything, I am going to be taller then most of my opponents, but I am not experienced enough to just go in there and brawl,” stated Gill, who stands at 6'5.
Kendall has been working with some Chicago’s best fighters, namely heavyweight contender Fres Oquendo, Freddie Cuevas, David Diaz, and also Ultimate Fighting Challenge champion Andrei Arlovski. So there is not a shortage of wisdom being passed along to Gill.
After this fight, Gill plans on fighting one more time this summer. After hopefully going 2-0, he plans on resuming his NBA career for a final season, then resuming his boxing career next year. According to him, this experience has already helped.
“Boxers are the hardest working and most respectable gifted athletes on the face of the earth. I have nothing but respect for all fighters. This experience has been a spiritual and mental journey for me. I feel that I have my edge back. After playing so many years in the NBA you lose your edge, I think about 8 years in I lost mine. I had lost it, but now I feel I have it back,” said Gill. “It has always been a vision of mine, for 20 years now, to be professional boxer. I have replayed this moment a thousand times in my head, ever since I was little. I plan on coming out there, and I plan on being a professional, and I plan on coming in to win.”
