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Tim Thomas on Facing Kenyon Martin in Boxing Ring: ‘Was Never Gonna Happen’

By Brandon 'Scoop B' Robinson

Jan 21, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bearcat former player Kenyon Lee Martin acknowledges the fans at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bearcat former player Kenyon Lee Martin acknowledges the fans at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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In the wake of Charles Oakley‘s scuffle with Madison Square Garden security at last night’s Knicks game, former Knicks forward Tim Thomas, a one time Nets draft pick is rehashing a feud with former Kenyon Martin.

Last month, rapper 50 Cent announced that he and boxer Floyd Mayweather were setting up a boxing match with singer Chris Brown and rapper Soulja Boy as its headliners. 50 also indicated that retired NBA player Kenyon Martin, who played for the Nets, and Thomas, were on the event’s undercard.

“They really need to go ahead and get that sh*t off their chest,” 50 Cent said in his instagram post.

Martin and Thomas have been bitter rivals since 2004, when the Nets and the Knicks battled in a Hudson River playoff rivalry. After injuring his back from a hard foul, Thomas told reporters that Martin was a “fugazi,” a term popularized by former HBO original program The Sopranos which means ‘fake.’

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Martin responded by cutting out the New York Post’s headline that read “Whiny Tim” and taping it to his practice jersey for all the media to see.

Years later, Martin and Thomas’ feud still hasn’t died, and the two have gone on to relive it in recent podcast interviews with Yahoo Sports’ The Vertical with Adrian Wojnarowski and myself on both Scoop B Radio and on the CBS Radio Brown and Scoop Podcast with myself and Jake Brown. 

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When asked about 50 Cent’s challenge, Martin told Billboard Magazine’s Carl Lamarre:

"“Don’t be part of the circus, dog. You know what they say if you entertain clowns, right? If you entertain clowns, you become part of the circus. I’m a 39-year-old grown-ass man, dog. If that was going to happen, I would have took care of it seven years ago. I moved on. I got kids at home. I don’t got time for that. It’s childish. It’s just people reaching for something to talk about. I’m not gonna entertain that.”"

On today’s episode of the Scoop B Radio Podcast, Thomas discussed why he knew that Martin did not have the guts to fight him in 50 Cent’s proposed offering in the boxing ring. 

“I knew it was never going to happen,” said Thomas. “I knew it was never gonna happen, because in ’04 when we ran into each other, I knew what kind of individual he was, from that point on. So I knew it was never gonna happen. And the only reason why the media outburst with 50 Cent happened was because the whole situation was over and he decided to talk about it again [on The Vertical Podcast with Adrian Wojnarowski] when he was trying to make his NBA comeback. So that’s when I had to figure out a way to embarrass him or expose him through what he loves to use most, which is the media.”

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Thomas also discussed why he called Martin a ‘fugazi’ back in 2004. “If you think about the individual, you would just have to think about the individual,” said Thomas. “Me knowing the individual, just know that he’s not the individual he’s putting out there.” 

Thomas, a native of Paterson, New Jersey, was selected seventh overall in the 1997 NBA Draft by the Nets. His rights were shipped to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Keith Van Horn, the 2nd pick in that draft.

He also reflected on seeing Martin out and about in the area. “You have to remember, he was out playing in my hometown,” said Thomas.

"“He would be in New York, I seen him out plenty of times. I know his demeanor, I know his whole parenting, I knew that whole situation about him was a facade of the bright lights. There’s a lot of guys that’s like that, and that’s no disrespect to them, there’s a lot of guys that’s like that. You’re protected by your teammates, the referees, the league, you can’t really, you know, fight or act out. That kind of used to be in the 80s and the 70s.”"

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There’s no love lost here. This Martin and Thomas feud is a serious throwback Thursday for Nets fans.