Sonny Bill Williams and Mark Hunt will square off in a boxing bout this November. Photo / Getty Images
8) Sonny Bill Williams v Mark Hunt, Saturday night – Sky Sport Arena/Sky Sport Now
Why are all pay-per-view combat events priced at $39.95?
Come on people, not all bouts are created equal.
I certainly won’t be paying that to watch these two heavyweight boxers.
Yet if it was $10 you could count me in, in a flash.
NRL/All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams, aged 37, is still trying to convince most people he’s a boxer of quality, and this bout won’t help on that score.
The 48-year-old Hunt isn’t a boxer. He’s an over-the-hill mixed martial arts legend.
Hunt doesn’t have a boxing win, has only had a few fights, and hasn’t fought for two years. SBW is unbeaten in nine. Those numbers tell you what the outcome will almost certainly be.
There’s a reasonable documentary film about Hunt available on Neon. It’s a reminder of his incredible rise, from the streets to stardom.
It also gets his character across, and made me really warm to him. He has a scary image, but Mark Hunt came across as an honourable man to be admired.
Hunt is still on a daunting legal mission to enshrine the concept that (among other things) illegal performance-enhancing drug use is a fraudulent danger to the health of clean fighters. He wants his day in court, rather than the money.
This bout in Sydney will help fund that legal fight against the almighty UFC.
Hunt could have been a terrific boxer. He’s got, or had, a devastating punch.
Life took him down another sports path. I don’t think he’s got a chance against the younger, highly athletic SBW.
This clash between a couple of famous Super Samoan Kiwis would have been something special, in another age, in different circumstances.
A lot of people would still love to watch this. But the audience will be limited at $40.
7) World Series, 1pm starts - Sky
Baseball’s big show between the Phillies and Astros concludes over the coming days.
6) Steven Alker goes for gold – Sky (check the late listings)
The Kiwi golfer has established such a big lead on the PGA Champions senior tour that he can win the overall prize before they to the final tournament.
The season ends with the three-tournament Charles Schwab playoffs. Alker lines up against Padraig Harrington, Bernhard Langer and co. in the second of those this weekend – the Timbertech in Florida.
If he wins, the title is his before they even get to the final championship event in Phoenix, close to where Alker lives in Fountain Hills.
The 51-year-old Alker can win the overall title even if he doesn’t win in Florida, if Harrington and Jerry Kelly finish a certain distance behind him.
Alker’s rise from battling tour golfer to Champions Tour star is one of the great New Zealand sports stories.
Fun fact: Alker won this tournament last year.
5) New Zealand Breakers v Sydney Kings, Sunday, 4.00pm – Sky
Yes, the Breakers are back (I think).
Early days, but the old Australian NBL powerhouse looks as though they are on the rise again, which is great news for Kiwi sport.
It’s been a rough ride under the new ownership regime headed by American Matt Walsh, who took over in early 2018.
Covid didn’t help. Last season was an unmitigated disaster.
But hey, things can change very quickly in basketball, and Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash against the champions in Auckland is a chance to take the revival a big step further.
The teams have 6–2 records. This means the Breakers have won more games than all of last season. They’ve already smashed a couple of in-form teams.
Who are the new stars?
Head coach Mody Maor for one. He’s enthusiasm personified, injecting spark and confidence into a rebuilt team.
Then there’s French teenager Rayan Rupert, a hot NBA draft prospect. The imports appear to have settled in superbly, always a big factor in the ANBL.
Team chemistry abounds which brings us to Tom Abercromie, the beating heart of the Breakers.
The Kiwi veteran returns this weekend - after a pre-season eye injury - which can only increase the team factor.
The match will see Tall Black Tom Vodanovich go up against the team he won the title with last season. The Kings are led by Xavier Cooks and new American import Derrick Walton Jr, who had brief spells with three NBA teams.
4) T20 World Cup: New Zealand v Ireland, Friday, 5pm – Sky
The World Cup is a mathematician’s playground.
But thanks to their great win over Australia, New Zealand’s aim going into the final pool match was always a straightforward one.
Victory will get their momentum going again, after a respectable loss to England, and almost certainly put them into the semifinals.
Ireland shocked England in a shortened game and have automatic entry into the 2024 world tournament to fight for here, but the Kiwis are heavy favourites.
Can Glenn Phillips continue his starring role? Can Kane Williamson step on the gas?
Will this groundbreaking New Zealand cricket era finally come up with a tournament triumph?
3) Black Ferns v France , Saturday, 7.30pm – Spark
Hands up here…I’ve been guilty of presuming the Rugby World Cup would come down to an England-New Zealand final. It felt like destiny.
This is wishful thinking, given that the mighty French stand in the Black Ferns way.
France are on a four-game winning streak against the Ferns and smashed them twice last year.
Yet Black Ferns co-captain Ruahei Demant said: “I think France should be worried.”
This not only refers to a changed camp under new coach Wayne Smith, but represents a rare piece of chutzpah from a New Zealand rugby player.
France pushed mighty England very hard in their group game. The Black Ferns have had a soft ride into the playoffs.
Nail biting time. This could be a classic, and another chance to watch the great Portia Woodman in action.
Fun fact: French (men’s) rugby has a storied history at Eden Park, with couple of great wins and two World Cup final appearances.
2) Rugby League World Cup quarter-finals: New Zealand v Fiji, Sunday, 8.30am; Samoa v Tonga, Monday, 3.30am – Spark
Rugby league has really stuffed up on this one, in terms of timing.
It’s a great weekend for the sport, with a strong Pacific flavour as the World Cup reaches crunch time in England.
The Toa Samoa-Mate Ma’a Tonga clash in particular shapes as an epic. I haven’t looked forward to a league game so much for a long time.
The likes of Jason Taumalolo and Addin Fonua-Blake versus Marty Taupau and Junior Paulo - what a prospect.
Yet the game will be played in the wee hours (NZ, Tonga, Samoa time), and on a work day to boot.
League gets so few opportunities to showcase the international game, yet is making the live experience impossible for so many people in this region, in this case, and will cut out a lot of floating voters.
Surely the sport is nimble enough for the timing to have been manipulated better.
As for the result, it’s a hard one to predict, although Samoa have the better halves. I’ll pick them to win, on that basis.
And the closer the Kiwis-Fiji game gets, the more nervous New Zealand fans will be.
No, it’s not a dream, or nightmare. Fiji did beat New Zealand, in Wellington, at the last World Cup.
The bookies are writing them off this time though, with Fiji paying around $20.
The Kiwis form is not great. Then again, they traditionally struggle when a lot is expected of them. Maybe poor form is ideal form.
The other quarter-finals, Australia v Lebanon and England v PNG, will be walkovers.
Australia will destroy Lebanon at 8.30 on Saturday morning, which is when the Tonga-Samoa game should have been scheduled.
1) All Blacks v Wales, Sunday, 4.15am – Sky
These All Blacks are in a bit of a shambles. Latest captain Sam Whitelock has a big job on his hands, especially without the suspended Brodie Retallick alongside.
Bottom line: Wayne Pivac’s Wales have a golden chance to get their first win over New Zealand since 1953. Knowing Wales, they will blow it.
Apart from that, the spine tingles in anticipation of another game at that magnificent Cardiff stadium with its always stunning crowd.
European rugby rocks in a way we can never match Down Under. The crowd alone will make this the best watch of the week.
There are a host of other top rugby tests to watch (Sky) on Sunday morning: Scotland-Fiji, Italy-Samoa, Ireland-South Africa and France-Australia. Rugby heads could do an all-nighter.
'They know how to make a champion. That comes from the culture to begin with.'