Michael Beasley knocked out Delonte West in the first round of their heavyweight exhibition at Brand Risk 16 in Miami on Friday night. The official stoppage came at 1:58 of the opening round.
The size gap told the story early. Beasley, the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NBA draft, stands about 6-foot-9 and had already fought on a Brand Risk card this year. West, 43 and 6-foot-3, was stepping into a ring for the first time. He swung wild and landed a couple of haymakers, but Beasley used his reach, dropped him, and West could not beat the count.
The finish somehow got messier after the bell. The ring announcer mistakenly announced West as the winner before the referee corrected it and raised Beasley’s hand. West, still dazed in the ring, kept it honest about how he felt.
“Brain’s a little dizzy.”
Delonte West, in the ring after the stoppage
The knockout capped a wild day for West. On Thursday he announced that he and his longtime partner Melissa Anaya were getting married that day, the latest turn in a comeback year that included new teeth and, in September, a 10-month sobriety milestone. Beasley, meanwhile, gets a win back after losing an MMA bout to Lance Stephenson at Brand Risk 14 in May.
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