Don’t get it wrong. Damian Lillard is one of the greatest and toughest basketball players to step foot on the NBA court. Nervousness isn’t a part of his dictionary. When everything depends on one heave, it’s generally Lillard who fearlessly takes the leap. ‘Dame Time’ has become a norm due to his outstanding clutch performances. But his spirit to fight didn’t arise from his bond with basketball. His trainer once said, “He’s a fighter who plays professional basketball”.
For someone who propers in intense moments, it’s no wonder their favorite sport to watch would be boxing. The brutality and warrior mentality of fighters resonated with him from the time his family would watch the marquee fights together. Since then, he has always followed the sport. No matter how marketed or discrete the fight, Dame is actively equipping himself with the happenings around the sport. Likewise, he watched the shocking turnout between middleweights: Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson and Raiko Santana. The result had many stumped, including the NBA Top 75 members. Ad Lillard expressed his displeasure strongly.
“They should be ashamed,” Damian Lillard echoed through his Instagram story following Santana’s upset win over Simpson.
USA Today via Reuters
The fight was meant to be redemption for Santana. That’s how it was advertised by Dazn, who seemed to be behind the favored fighter. But the beauty of underdogs is that they are unpredictable. Santana capitalized on his position and fought toe-toe-toe against his 14-2 opponent. The fight went into an overtime round, a tradition that had only been used twice before by the OTX format.
Even the final round was difficult to judge. However, the split decision was awarded to Raiko Santana, which ruined the Truck’s chance at vengeance.
Damian Lillard knows the fighting game
It’s modest to say Damian Lillard is merely a boxing fan. Dame Dolla is a trained fighter who ensures he polishes his combat mechanics in every off-season. He incorporates the sport into his offseason training routine, which has a fantastic result in his conditioning and stamina. However, it’s deeper than that too.
Lillard has learned how to study the fight game and evaluate fights comfortably. In 2020, he successfully predicted Teofimo Lopez’s exhilarating victory over Vasily Lomachenko, a man who had only lost once before that fight. Even a former pound-for-pound king Andre Ward couldn’t see the result, but Lillard called the upset beforehand, and let him know about it after.
While Santana’s win had mixed reactions, some boxing stans saw it to be a well-deserved win for the fighter. Maybe Lillard’s passion overtook his generally composed demeanor, or he probably saw the fight differently from others. Either way, it’s clear whose side Dame was on, and losing always irks the NBA superstar.
