Kiwi Sonny Bill Williams has suffered his first professional boxing defeat, knocked out by compatriot and mixed martial arts star Mark Hunt at Sydney.
Eleven years younger than his opponent, Williams, 37, came into the fight at the Aware Super Theatre with a 9-0 record and was the heavy favourite.
Hunt, 48, was the underdog, after losing to fellow crosscode star Paul Gallen in 2020, but that counted for nothing, with Hunt claiming a technical knockout win over his fellow Samoan-Kiwi.
Williams started the contest the better of the two fighters, but fortunes changed in the fourth round, when Hunt produced some brutal punches.
The former All Black landed a big uppercut to the chin of Hunt, but that didn't fluster the MMA star, who responded with a right hand to knock Williams' mouthguard out.
Hunt followed this up with two brutal right hands to drop Williams, who survived the standing count.
Hunt landed a powerful jab to the jaw, continuing to pound Williams, who was up against the ropes, before the referee called the fight off.
The veteran announced after the fight he would retire as a winner, and thanked everyone across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
Williams also questioned his future as a boxer.
"At this stage, I'm not even sure if I'll fight again," Williams said. "That could be it for me too - we'll see how the next couple of weeks unfolds.
"I've trained hard for this fight. I just feel sorry for my wife, who had to put up with all the kids for the last couple of weeks.
"I'm just keen to get home and get back into the swing of things, and start going back to the mosque in the morning, spending my day off like that."
When pushed further on his future in the sport, the two-time Rugby World Cup winner and NRL champion couldn't commit to a future fight.
"I'm 37 and I've always said, if I cop a bit of punishment or a lot of punishment, that could be it," Williams said.
