“For me, Sonny landed the cleaner, harder, crisper shots that were more eye-catching.
“Professional boxing is scored on the cleaner, harder punches. At the end of the fight, I had Sonny in front andI questioned, are the judges going to score those body shots? And if they were, Paul Gallen landed a tonne. And that was the difference, I guess.”
Paul Gallen has ended his boxing career, and a decade-long feud with Sonny Bill Williams, with a split points decision victory.
But was it the right call?
Not everyone was convinced. The boxing scribes covering the event were divided.
Regardless, the record will show that Gallen was the better man. In the lead-up, the former Cronulla captain vowed not to shake Williams’ hand after the pair exchanged insults. But after the final bell, as they were waiting for the judges to deliver their verdict, they finally buried their feud.
The bout unfolded as most predicted. Just like he did in his footballing days, Gallen charged forward in a bid to press his advantage. Williams countered with his jab, trying to make the most of his superior reach. The most effective blows came early from the former All Black’s uppercut, and Gallen was surprised he abandoned the ploy as the fight progressed.
Sonny Bill Williams and Paul Gallen during their bout in Sydney. Photo / Alyse Wright
‘Fitter and fresher’
James Dampney and Ben Talintyre, News.com
Williams looked much fitter and fresher in the early rounds, using his jab to good effect, before Gallen produced one of his trademark comebacks to take the win and all the bragging rights by split decision, 77-74, 74-77, 76-75.
The former Sharks skipper has shown time and again in his belated boxing career that he’s rarely beaten, even when he’s in a deep hole, and that proved the case again on Wednesday night.
‘Sport thrives on controversy’
Adrian Proszenko, The Age
Gallen’s controversial split-decision win against Sonny Bill Williams at Qudos Bank Arena on Wednesday night lasted just 16 minutes, but lined their pockets with paydays of up to A$1 million (NZ$1.1m) each. In their pomp as professional footballers on the field, it would take an entire season to earn as much.
The event was shown exclusively on Stan which, like this masthead, is owned by Nine Entertainment. The pay-per-view sales remain a heavily guarded secret, but the early indications suggest it was a success.
Sport thrives on controversy and Williams and Gallen brought bucketloads into their grudge match. Nobody sells quite like the Cronulla captain, who has leant into his role as the pantomime villain in much the way Anthony Mundine did before him.
Paul Gallen moves into Sonny Bill Williams in Sydney. Photo / Alyse Wright
‘The fight simply did not hit the heights’
Australian Associated Press
After all the spite and verbal barbs landed over the previous decade, the fight simply did not hit the heights as both Gallen and Williams laboured, working to their traditional strengths.
After a lengthy feud, Paul Gallen has claimed bragging rights over Sonny Bill Williams, with the NRL great defeating the cross-code legend in a bout that almost lived up to the hype.
Perhaps the crucial moment came midway through the seventh round, with a brutal Gallen right hook to the midriff knocking the stuffing out of Williams, who responded by desperately clinging to Gallen as he propped himself up on the former NRL hard man, infuriating him.
As a result, Williams was given a one-point penalty by referee Les Fear and warned he would risk disqualification if he continued to hold.
