Ali v Frasier, Mayweather v Pacquiao, Tyson v Holyfield and now Barry Hall v Sonny Bill Williams. In another edition of AFL v NRL, the two superstars in their own right are looking to cement their names in the game of Boxing, post their illustrious football careers. The anticipation has been heightened by best promotion possible, when Hall characteristically head-butted SBW during the face-off as tensions threatened to spill over… how good!
A $1.57 favourite with Wishbet, the undefeated Sonny Bill (8-0) is expected to take out the bout against Hall who drew his only match against Paul Gallen, where he no doubt held his own. Experience is clearly on the side of the Kiwi. To make matters worse for Hall, SBW boasts an 11kg weight advantage, and a considerable 9 year age difference. The two will go toe-to-toe for 8 three-minute rounds, and for Hall, this could be part of his downfall. The big man clearly felt the fatigue during moments of the Gallen fight, which was only 6 two-minute rounds. Some ‘experts’ are claiming he’ll be hard to beat, however it just doesn’t seem to be lining up for me. There are too many factors at play that fall in SBW’s favour.
One, in particular, is SBW’s sixth straight heavyweight victory that ended in farcical circumstances when Botha claimed the fight was shortened from the 12 advertised rounds to 10, but the fact remains, SBW did win a fight against a legitimate world-class Boxer. One who took on the likes of Lennox Lewis, Wladimir Klitschko, Evander Holyfield & Mike Tyson to name a few.
All things considered, both blokes look in terrific condition and have had this bout in the forefront of their minds for the majority of 2021, so we can only hope we get our money’s worth.
