Watch: Nick Young Sent Through Ropes While Boxing Malcolm Minikon

Young was not happy with the way things ended and believes Minikon hit him with a cheap shot on purpose because he was losing. The former Lakers guard told Harry Davies of Mirror that he felt good, and was winning, before the illegal shot ended things:

“I felt good, I hit him a lot, I felt I came and did what I had to do,” Young said. “He hit me with a cheap shot and that’s what you’ve got to do when you’re losing. I don’t want him getting a headbutt at the end and thinking he won off a headbutt, I don’t know how you can think he won.”

Perhaps Young was unaware of exactly what he was hit with in the midst of the fight as there appeared to be no contact with the head in the final sequence, though he could be referring to something earlier in the bout. It should also be noted that the fight was an unscored bout so there would be no official winner regardless.

Nonetheless, Young did step in between the ropes and did have some good moments including this impressive jab-cross combo that stunned his opponent, via FITE TV:

It is interesting that Young, a right-hand dominant player on the court, is a southpaw fighter, but maybe that is him still saving that right arm for buckets. Nonetheless, after an interesting first showing in the boxing ring, maybe some will be more interested in a battle of former Lakers teammates down the line, even though Russell himself doesn’t seem to care at all.

Russell responds to former Lakers teammate Young boxing callout

For his part, Russell seems to have no interest in a potential boxing match with Young and even seems annoyed that his name was mentioned.

The former Lakers guard took to social media, claiming that Young was simply using his name to stay relevant and again claiming that he was not the person who leaked the infamous video which caused the issues between the two in the first place.