Hansen OK SBW will glove up
Sonny Bill Williams has already won a points decision with Steve Hansen.
Williams is almost ready to resume his rugby career, after injuring his shoulder in New Zealand’s 49-14 win over France in June. But it’s talk of his scheduled return to the boxing ring that is making headlines in the meantime.
The 33-year-old will meet an undisclosed opponent in Sydney, on December 1, in a charity event that’s being labelled the ‘‘Banger in the Hanger.’’
The bout comes just days after the All Blacks end their season with a test match against Italy in Rome on November 24. It’s a tight turnaround but one that doesn’t trouble coach Hansen.
‘‘Look, from my understanding I think it’s a very, very lowkey fight and it’s about raising money for the homeless in Sydney and for the Auckland City Mission,’’ Hansen said yesterday.
‘‘He [Williams] is pretty confident. I’ve spoken to Khoder [Williams’ agent Khoder Nasser], Khoder’s confident that what’s going to take place won’t be of hinderance to him, so you’ve got to back their judgement and from what I understand it shouldn’t be too much of a task.’’
Williams, a former New Zealand heavyweight champion, hasn’t fought for three years but doesn’t sound as if he’ll be walking into some knock ‘em down, drag ‘em out thriller in Sydney.
He certainly won’t spend New Zealand’s end of year tour supplementing his rugby training with overly-intense sparring sessions while in Europe.
‘‘No, I think he’s just going to get off the plane [in Sydney] and do it. That’s the sort of athlete he is,’’ Hansen said.
‘‘We’ve got guys boxing all the time, as part of their training. Again, my understanding of the fight is that it’s more of an exhibition fight.
‘‘You’re probably better off having a good yarn to him about it, because he’ll be able to fill you in on all the details. But I don’t have any problem with him doing it.’’
There had been hopes, certainly at Cronulla Sharks captain Paul Gallen’s end, that he and Williams might fight at some point. Gallen has long tried to shame Williams, a two-time NRL premiership winner with Canterbury-Bankstown and the Sydney Roosters, into a bout.
Williams assures Gallen it’ll happen. Just not yet.
‘‘Tell my good friend Paul, he can just relax and we will get there eventually,’’ Williams was quoted as saying. ‘‘He keeps calling me out by attacking me and questioning my manhood. I’ve been involved in sports for long enough to understand that the bravado, the macho talk is just rubbish.’’