Who is Kendall Gill, the retired NBA star and pro-boxer who called out Jake Paul?

Kendall Gill has called Jake Paul out following the latter's first-round knockout win over Ben Askren.

Gill is a retired NBA player and a professional boxer, who currently appears on television as a basketball analyst. Kendall Gill has been a lifelong boxing enthusiast and strapped on his fighting gloves since retiring from basketball.

Born and raised in Chicago, Kendall Gill went to Rich Central High School and then attended the University of Illinois. He played four years for the Fighting Illini alongside future NBA stars Nick Anderson, Kenny Battle, and Marcus Liberty. He is also an NCAA Slam Dunk champion and left Illinois as the seventh-leading scorer in the history of the institution.

Gill was picked fifth by Charlotte Hornets in the 1990 NBA Draft. He went on to play 15 seasons in the NBA across seven different teams over 966 games. He last played as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2004 before retiring from the sport.

After retiring, alongside regular TV appearances, Kendall Gill tried his hand out in boxing. Between June 2005 and April 2010, Gill fought in four professional boxing matches, winning them all - three via technical knockout and one by unanimous decision.

Kendall Gill's first opponent was Trevor Biley, followed by Jason Medina and Quenton Mitchell. He fought all three of them in 2005. Gill fought once in 2010 against Miles Kelly. He has not appeared inside the ring ever since.

However, he has recently expressed his desire to change that.

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Kendall Gill on Jake Paul: I think his circus will end

Kendall Gill has been calling Jake Paul out for a while now, asking Triller to make the fight happen. He told MMA Fighting's Damon Martin in a recent interview that he's been requested by fellow basketball players to go out there and knock Jake Paul out following the latter's win over another ex-NBA player Nate Robinson.

Kendall Gill called Jake Paul out after that, mentioning that he has a 4-0 record in boxing unlike his last opponent, who was new to the sport.

Unlike your last opponent. I Don’t Play Boxing! Let’s see you in with someone 4-0 in your weight class with skills. @triller send me the contract! ⁦@jakepaul⁩, You just got called out by an NBA Player that will wreck you! Now what?!! ⁦@undisputed⁩ ⁦@FirstTake⁩ pic.twitter.com/alE2tpY3mW

— Kendall Gill (@KendallG13) December 21, 2020

After Jake Paul's team waved it away, claiming that the fight did not have any weight behind it, Kendall Gill went ahead and got former basketball player, TV personality, and rapper Shaquille O'Neal to get behind him.

⁦My NBA brother @shaq is into now ⁦@jakepaul⁩. U will win April 17. But ⁦@triller⁩’s next date is July 3. No more excuses about me not having enough followers & being too old. U called out ⁦@danawhite⁩ who’s 51 recently. Step up!⁦@Stacey21King⁩ pic.twitter.com/r7j4m8KFBG

— Kendall Gill (@KendallG13) April 6, 2021

In the interview with MMA Fighting, Kendall Gill praised Jake Paul for doing a great job transitioning from YouTube to boxing and taking the sport seriously but also said that as soon as Jake Paul fights someone of caliber, his show will be over.

"Look, I don't knock the guy's hustle. Actually, he's a genius going from YouTube to boxing and selling 2 million pay-per-view buys last Saturday. He did a great job with the Nate Robinson fight as well as far as stirring up interest. He does take the sport seriously. I can see that he has improved in his skill level... But sooner or later he’s going to have to fight somebody with boxing experience. Then, I think his circus will end."

A few days ago, Kendall Gill shared an online conversation with Jake Paul's trainer BJ Flores, claiming that their team was making excuses to avoid a fight with him.