BOXING:SONNY BILL Williams' boxing career took off as he scored a first-round knock-out over American Clarence Tillman in Hamilton, New Zealand, yesterday. The win left Williams undefeated from five fights and earned him the New Zealand Professional Boxing Association heavyweight title.
It also dismissed any doubts about the apparent lack of punching power of the World Cup-winning All Black.
After the two boxers sounded each other out early, Williams connected with a good left hook and then finished Tillman off with a flurry of blows that had his opponent with his head hanging out of the ring. Referee Lance Revill stepped in to stop the fight with one second left in the first round.
There was plenty of feeling going into the clash after their much publicised altercation at Tuesday’s weigh-in. And that carried on when they got into the ring, having to be separated as they banged shoulders and exchanged words. Tillman left the ring immediately after the fight, not bothering to stay around to see Williams presented with his belt.
There were also ugly scenes when Williams’ original opponent Richard Tutaki entered the ring to taunt Williams. Tutaki was removed with All Black and Chiefs team-mate Liam Messam acting as Williams’ minder.
The 26-year-old Williams was giving away 6cm in height, a massive 44lb (21kg) in weight and tons of experience to the 34-year-old American who had 21 professional fights going into this bout, including 11 wins with six by knockout.
It was a big night in Hamilton with the crowd at the Claudelands Events Centre including All Blacks Tana Umaga, Wayne Smith, Matthew Cooper, Frank Bunce and the bulk of Williams’ Chiefs team-mates.
Williams said he was thrilled with his decisive result, especially after Tillman had claimed he would be the one celebrating a knockout victory. “He tagged me and that got me angry,” Williams said of getting up his killer instinct. “It’s massive. On the world stage it’s just a blip for me, coming where I have in a year-and-a-half it’s massive.”
Williams said he was keen to fight again this year but would work through the logistics of that with his rugby coaches.
Interestingly Williams didn’t have any Adidas gear on, as his personal contract with the massive sportswear company stalls.
Williams now turns his attention to Super Rugby with the Chiefs, returning to training on Monday and likely to feature in their final warm-up match.
At Tuesday’s weigh-in Williams looked every inch a brawler when he came to blows with Tillman.
The American took exception to the New Zealand centre’s trash-talking as they faced off at Hamilton’s Ringside Gym and gave him a shove.Williams responded by punching him on the chin and took a right hook to the face in return.
Australian professional boxer and former rugby league player Anthony Mundine, a friend and stablemate of Williams under manager Khoder Nasser, pulled Tillman to the ground and pushed him into a nearby boxing ring.Video footage posted on the Internet showed Williams murmuring: “Don’t call me homie” as the pair eyed each other before they started swinging. “If he wanted to I could fight right now,” said Williams. “It’s on.”
Williams has been permitted a limited number of fights by the New Zealand Rugby Union in his one-year contract. He has defeated a string of weak opponents and largely failed to impress in his previous our fights.
