Former All Blacks and NRL star Sonny Bill Williams returns to the boxing ring on Wednesday night, when he takes on Aussie Rules legend Barry Hall at Sydney Convention Centre.
Almost nine years have passed since Williams, 36, vacated his NZ heavyweight crown to focus on his rugby and league ambitions, but in recent years, he has revisited the 'sweet science', as his football career wound down.
Hall, 45, has carved a similar reputation as an ironman of the AFL and ignited hostilities, when he appeared to headbutt SBW at Tuesday's weigh-in.
Williams tipped the scales at 109.1kg, while Hall will give away more than 10kg, at 97.8kg.
Is this a step towards even bigger things for Williams, who is 8-0 in his professional career, or simply a money-grab for two fading athletes, desperately trying to hold on to their glory days?
Here are 10 things you need to know about these two rivals:
- Williams has always insisted his boxing training made him a better rugby/league player. He made his professional debut on the 2009 undercard of close friend Anthony Mundine v Daniel Geale at Brisbane, defeating Garry Gurr in a second-round knockout.
- In 2011, SBW won his third pro fight against Aussie Scott Lewis at Gold Coast Convention Centre, a six-round unanimous points decision. This was his first fight as a main event and he donated 200 tickets to victims of the Queensland floods, while his gloves sold for $3890, which also went to flood relief.
- During a Crusaders Super Rugby bye week that same year, Williams beat Tongan Alipate Liava'a by unanimous points decision at an event billed as Clash for Canterbury, raising funds for earthquake relief. Sky donated its pay-per-view profits and SBW pitched in $100,000 from his share from TV sales.
- In February, Williams captured the NZ heavyweight title left vacant, when Shane Cameron dropped to cruiserweight. Original opponent Richard Tutaki was dropped from the card, facing serious criminal charges, so SBW faced Auckland-based American Clarence Tillman III, whom he stopped in the first round.
- Probably Williams' biggest win came in 2012 against South African Francois Botha for the vacant WBA International Heavyweight title. SBW dominated the fight, but barely held off his opponent in the 10th and final round for a unanimous points decision, although no-one told Botha the bout had been shortened from the original 12 rounds.
- Williams took a hiatus from boxing and was stripped of his titles, but returned to the ring to beat American Chauncey Welliver in 2015. In his most recent pro fight, SBW was knocked down by Waikato Falefehi in the second round, but rallied for a unanimous points decision last June.
- In the build-up to this fight, Williams has trained with world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former champion Joseph Parker, under Andy Lee, who told this week's press conference he believed SBW could still fight for a world title one day.
- In 2011, Hall retired from an illustrious AFL career that spanned 16 seasons and 289 games for three club, including a premiership with Sydney Swans in 2005, when he was also named Player of the Year. He was admitted to the AFL Hall of Fame in 2017.
- Since retirement, Hall has featured on several Australian reality TV shows, including I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and SAS Australia: Who Dares Wins, but was dismissed from Triple M radio station, after making crude remarks during a AFL pre-game coverage in 2018. During his stint on Celebrity, he met former Hi-5 performer Lauren Brant, whom he married in February 2021.
- Hall's only professional fight was a controversial six-round draw against NRL rugby league hardman Paul Gallen in November 2019. He has committed to two more fights - one more after SBW.
Join us from 8pm Wednesday for live updates of the Sonny Bill Williams v Barry Hall fight
