This past weekend there was a whole lot of interesting stuff happening in the world of rugby, the least of which was Sonny Bill Williams' fourth professional boxing match, but here's a post about it anyway.
The All Black star in the making went up against Alipate Liava, a 43 year old who is currently on disability benefits as he's not fit to work because of an elbow problem. Williams has acknowledged that his boxing career is a slow work in progress and he's not yet where he wants to be, but many would have hoped this would have been more of a test for him.
The twenty five year old was never troubled, and despite taking a few shots to the jaw, came out unscathed, much to the relief of New Zealand and Crusaders coaches Graham Henry and Todd Blackadder, who were both watching in the crowd.
"He hardly got hit, which is the main thing," Henry said. "He kept moving. He's a good athlete. He moves well. He didn't get touched often, which is great. I think he's feeling good about himself and he's pleased it's over so he can concentrate on other things."
"If it was Richie McCaw, or Dan Carter, or whoever it might be, we would be here to support him," he added, and also mentioned that there wont be another fight before the World Cup, as his All Blacks contract stipulates that condition clearly.
Williams won the fight by a unanimous points decision, with Liava's record now standing at eight successive losses, after he won his first four fights in his 12-bout career.
The positive that came from the rather bizarre mismatch is that money was raised for Christchurch's disaster relief, of which Williams donated a significant sum from his own pocket.
Time:
02:22
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