Sonny Bill Williams wins the 'Turf War' Heavyweight bout against Barry Hall. Photosport
Sonny Bill Williams wins the 'Turf War' Heavyweight bout against Barry Hall. Photosport
Sonny Bill Williams has absolutely destroyed Barry Hall inside two minutes in a performance that has likely ended the former AFL star's boxing career.
Williams was a hurricane right from the first bell and had knocked Hall down inside the first 45 seconds of the fight. That's almost a dollar-per-second for Sky TV viewers who paid the $39.95 fee on Sky Arena for a fight that didn't start until after midnight.
It was a slaughter right from the start when Williams landed a heavy left hook just 15 seconds into the fight that had Hall falling back onto the ropes.
Suddenly it was very easy to tell Williams was nine years younger and an 11kg weight advantage.
Sonny Bill Williams wins the 'Turf War' Heavyweight bout against Barry Hall at the Aware Super Theatre in Sydney. Photosport
There was some confusion with the referee appearing to wave the fight off as Hall got back to his feet the second time.
However, the fight was allowed to continue before Hall was knocked to the floor a third time.
Williams ended it with a searing right hook that collected Hall across the cheek. It was the second time Hall had been knocked down in the space of 15 seconds.
"That's unbelievable. That was incredible from Sonny Bill Williams. He just smoked him. I'm just in shock.
"He didn't miss. He was so accurate. I'm just so impressed with Sonny Bill. That was just a domination against a beast of a man in Barry Hall."
Fellow commentator Andy Raymond said: "Sonny Bill Williams is the King.
"For Sonny Bill to drive straight through him like that, that's a statement."
There were some serious questions being asked of the Kiwi code-hopper after his less than spectacular return to boxing last year where he was knocked down by his unfancied opponent.
Now he has sent a message that he is back as a legitimate force that will be giving Gallen nightmares on Wednesday night.
There was also several classy moments in the ring after the fight with Williams walking to Hall's corner and embracing his opponent.
The ringside microphones heard the pair exchanging words of "nothing but respect".
World title contender: trainer
Before the fight, SBW's trainer Andy Lee declared the former NRL premiership winner and Rugby World Cup champion could be turned into a world heavyweight title contender. Williams went into the fight at 8-0 with three knockouts under his belt.
Ranked as the 13th best heavyweight in Australia, the 36-year-old's last fight was against 2-14 fighter Falefahi in Townsville last June, where he was knocked down but won the six-rounder on points.
But Williams has now dedicated himself to boxing after his football career ended and went on a six-week training camp where he sparred the likes of world champ Tyson Fury, former WBO heavyweight champ Joseph Parker and European champion Tommy McCarthy.
Sonny Bill Williams wins the 'Turf War' Heavyweight bout against Barry Hall at the Aware Super Theatre in Sydney. Photosport
"It's been a pleasure to train Sonny," he said during the pair's press conference. "For a man who's achieved so much in the sport world, he's very, very hungry, very, very dedicated, almost obsessive about boxing, so it's been a pleasure to train him.
"If I showed him something this morning, by the next time we met in the gym, I could see that he worked on it, practised it and thought about it, and was already improved at doing it. That taught me all I needed to know about Sonny and how serious he is about the game.
"You might think it's crazy but my ambition for Sonny over the next few years is to build him into a world title contender and eventually fight for the world championship because that's how good he can be. He has that natural ability but you combine that with the hunger he has, I think he can go all the way."
Lee also told the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age: "Is that the greatest story in sports history if he fights for the heavyweight title?"
Hall makes big call on his boxing future
Hall admitted his boxing career would be on shaky ground if he fell to Williams.
The former Sydney Swans key forward said just hours before the fight he is under no illusions that his future depends on a victory over Williams.
His statement came after he last year signed a two-fight contract with a promotion company with one fight still yet to happen. He also said at the start of the year he wanted to fight three times in 2022.
"They're taking food off my table. That's the way I look at it," he said of Williams' camp.
"I'm trying to set up my kids' future, so like him or not, he's going to get hurt.
"At the start of the year, I wanted to have three fights, that was the plan. But it's all results based. I'm under no illusions with where I'm at and where he's at. He's a big name. If I drop this fight it's probably going to be a long road back."
Mundine's son debuts
Earlier in the night, Rahim Mundine made waves in an impressive boxing debut where he showed off incredibly similar moves to his dad, Anthony.
The son of the Australian sporting legend won by unanimous decision in his fight against Lepani Levatia on the undercard of the Williams-Hall showdown.
The 20-year-old was composed throughout the fight and also unleashed some bombs in the final round.
His speed and power left Aussie boxing legend Danny Green impressed.
"Look at that, look at that power," he said.
He also showed off a technique that had boxing commentators immediately thinking of his dad's career in the ring.
"Probably not surprising, Rahim's fighting style is identical to Anthony's," the Tim Boxeo account posted on Twitter.
"Very impressive professional debut for Rahim Mundine. Mundine had no amateur bouts prior to this debut — fighting style not surprisingly identical to father Anthony's."
Mundine was awarded the win unanimously 40-37, 40-37 and 39-37 on the judges' scorecards.
Mundine Sr, a former boxing world champion, was in his son's corner during the fight and was too nervous to speak to the host broadcaster.
"It's obviously a different nervousness. Now I know how my dad felt when I was coming through," he said. I'm very nervous. Between rounds, I was thinking about my boy."
Fight stats showed Mundine landed 34 punches to his opponent's 21.
