SBW survives late White Buffalo onslaught
8 Feb 2013
Sonny Bill Williams beat Francois Botha on points in Brisbane after the boxing bout was controversially reduced from 12 to 10 rounds during the fight.
The former All Blacks centre was hanging on by a thread in what turned out to be the last round and would almost certainly have lost if another two rounds had been allowed.
The judges awarded the fight to Williams 97-91, 98-94 and 97-91.
‘I love Sonny Bill, but this is bullshit,’ Botha said afterwards. ‘I beat him hands free!’
Earlier, Wallabies flyhalf Quade Cooper won his first professional fight in a first-round knockout of Australian Barry Dunnett.
There will be repeats of both fights on SuperSport at 3pm (SS5) and 7pm (SS1).
945 Comments
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8 Feb 2013, 20:05 pm
@Dawn-294:
If the fight had gone the required 12 rounds – as it was supposed to – then Sonny Bill would have sat on his arse in the middle of the ring.
Imagine a ref ending a rugby game 10 minutes before time – reason being – oh it was decided – fuckingbullshit home town decision that was, nothing else.
8 Feb 2013, 20:05 pm
Coupla pingpongpricks besig here tonight
8 Feb 2013, 20:06 pm
Sunni was out on his pretty feet!
8 Feb 2013, 20:10 pm
I wonder if some cullerts on here even have a passport and where they have been overseas…
Robben island does not count.
8 Feb 2013, 20:13 pm
@Dawn-302:
Bite my fat one
8 Feb 2013, 20:13 pm
@Fern-304:
Prop blame apartheid if they have not been abroad yet…
Telling all how great Cape Town is…
Sadly telling us all how her aged parents had to wait for prescrition meds for hours.
Mzansi needs to look at basic service delivery.
8 Feb 2013, 20:13 pm
@Fern-304:
Wat van die “afspringers” wat in Gauteng beland?
Tel dit nie?
8 Feb 2013, 20:15 pm
@victoriabok-307:
dit tel nie.
die ouens in gauteng hou vol die ouens in brokeback mountain is nie fam nie.
8 Feb 2013, 20:15 pm
@I am a stormer-301: Home town decision? The announcer didn’t even know his name. “Welcome to the ring…Sonny Boy Willlllllliaaaaams!” Don’t think anyone in Brisbane cares for SBW.
If it was fixed, they were both in on it. It creates some drama and an interesting rivalry. If you ask me, Nassar has them set up on a package deal to audition for the next Batman movie. SBW as Bruce Wayne with a bit of a gansta aksunt and Botha as Bane. Sonny’s already conquered sport, next stop Hollywood
8 Feb 2013, 20:15 pm
@Fern-298:
Pasop vir die dikkes
8 Feb 2013, 20:16 pm
@Fern-200:
reminds me of a story a Radio 5 DJ told (think wz Alex Jay) He let rip with one in his car that almost suffocated him. When he pulled in at the filling station, opened his window, the petrol attendant backed off.
8 Feb 2013, 20:17 pm
@Fern-308:
Die ouens van Eersterust wat saam met my gewerk het het hulle “afspringers” genoem want hulle het blykbaar met die trein verbygekom en afgespring toe hulle die beskawing sien
8 Feb 2013, 20:17 pm
@@whistle@blower@-311:
Shell F-Power with extra farts?
8 Feb 2013, 20:20 pm
vicbok
sit op die boot en 2 dollas stap verby
hy se hardop
jy vat die vet een,ek vat die vetter een.
bwhahaha
ek ken hom al darem lank.
8 Feb 2013, 20:20 pm
@Fern-306:
> Prop blame apartheid if they have not been abroad yet…
Jy moes dit nie gesê het nie, nou gaan die hele ou koor sanik en Transie en Skop gaan kyk wie daaroor die groot grootste kluit kan stoot
Gepraat van kluit stoot, dis die antidote vir Skop, toe ons gister begin kak praat toe verdwyn hy soos ‘n wet dream
8 Feb 2013, 20:21 pm
@Fern-314:
Wie?
8 Feb 2013, 20:21 pm
OMG, I’ve just watched a rerun of the Sonny Bill comedy – coz that’s what it was – that young man may have a future as puppet or an actor, but as a boxer? Never … a man (who lost 4 of his previous 5 fights), & who is almost old enough to be his father, owned the sorry sonny’s a_rse with TWO MORE ROUNDS to go (but not be) …. Sonny was going dOWn, man, dOWn – anyone with eyes could see.
I’ve never seen such a disgrace of fight. WBA Heavyweight Champion! ffs it sullies boxing (& all previous brave warrior champions) as a whole …
& this in a week when the sanctimonious Aussie sports minister & his cohorts confess widespread drug abuse & match fixing Down Under, & promise tough action against all comers that don’t fess up & subsequently get caught out.
Jeesh, Mr Minister, just get the “clean-up & tough punishment” ball rolling with this outrageous disgrace of a “fight”!
Earlier today I read what you guys had to say – but never thought it was this bad.
8 Feb 2013, 20:27 pm
@ vicbok
was ek en nmaat.
@victoriabok-315:
Skopy is gebore in Israel…
8 Feb 2013, 20:27 pm
@gonzo-309:
SBW may indeed have a future in Hollywood in a re-make of the blockbuster “The people vs Larry Flynt” the way the women in the office were misbehaving.
As for Fransie Botha:
A minor role in a spaghetti western as a Bud Spencer clone would do him well.
8 Feb 2013, 20:28 pm
just got back from the mining indaba in cape town.
pretty clear that our overwhelmed government should steer clear of the heavyweights in the industry.
they were outclassed – sadly.
8 Feb 2013, 20:30 pm
Two pingpongpricks
8 Feb 2013, 20:31 pm
@Angostura-317: Oh, & almost forgot: Quade Cooper was impressive & looked the bizniz
8 Feb 2013, 20:33 pm
@charo-320:
It’s a fight they can’t win
If the Government gives them s.hit they’ll just pack up and go elsewhere till they see the error of their ways
It’s not as if they could trust Zuma’s son (one of the maaaaany) to run the mining industry
8 Feb 2013, 20:33 pm
@victoriabok-316:
ek en n pel
8 Feb 2013, 20:37 pm
@Fern-314:
> jy vat die vet een,ek vat die vetter een.
Hoe vet was hulle?
Het jy Eno’s saamgevat?
8 Feb 2013, 20:38 pm
it was great to introduce my scottish mate to perseverance tavern though.
too often these guys get taken to the v&a waterfront and get no idea of the real cape town.
unfortunately the wind howled the whole week that we were there.
8 Feb 2013, 20:40 pm
@charo-320:
Clearly. The befuddled inglorious state in which we try to operate businesses fail to understand the continued operations of these mines are in the Governments own interests. Through increased employment and tax revenues. The Government in this country has to understand that they are stakeholders. Not shareholders.
If a mine decides to close down and lay off workers, then so be it. Where homes lose their only breadwinner. It is a business decision. I don’t see too many foreign entities rubbing their hands to invest in the good old RSA. Unless, of course, they are listed on the Shanghai SE – then you want to see labour disputes – our workers ain’t seen nothing yet.
8 Feb 2013, 20:41 pm
the way the Ozzies booed Sonny at the end…
snaaks…
8 Feb 2013, 20:44 pm
@Angostura-322:
Quade was impressive. But he threw more sidesteps than punches in the first 2 minutes.
8 Feb 2013, 20:44 pm
Brrrrrrrrpp!
8 Feb 2013, 20:55 pm
@Angostura-317:
i havn’t larfed out loud that much in years, boet… years…
the last part of round ten and the look on Sonny’s face… priceless…
this boy’s a decent rugby player and that’s it, nothing more. ok, maybe an acting career too would certainly net him a tidy sum but that’s it, finito.
8 Feb 2013, 20:57 pm
@I am a stormer-327:
unfortunately ms shabangu thought she was being clever by threatening to withhold mining licenses.
thinking, i suppose, that the rest of africa would follow suit.
the opposite is the truth – the new, progressive african countries are welcoming foreign mining investment – seeing the benefits to the fiscus and employment/education for their people.
anyway, enough of non-rugby matters.
8 Feb 2013, 21:00 pm
@Fern-314:
Was this the indian cherrie?
Or some other concubine?
8 Feb 2013, 21:03 pm
@charo-332:
In closing, our precious government doesn’t realise that we as a country are losing out on precious FDI. To the rest of Africa. We’re no longer flavour of the month.
Was it as good a party as they say?
8 Feb 2013, 21:10 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-331:
Mate, he’s damn fine rugby player.
Who would you rather see at 12 for the Bulls, if he was offered? SBW, Meisiekind or the laaitie Serfontein.
8 Feb 2013, 21:14 pm
@I am a stormer-335:
Serfontein.
8 Feb 2013, 21:15 pm
@I am a stormer-334:
social side of it was as good as ever.
expensive at $1800 to attend but the networking was invaluable.
nathan sharpe was there as part of an aussie mining development company.
chatted to him – purely business – he was obviously a pr exercise – zero knowledge of the industry.
but a good bloke nevertheless.
8 Feb 2013, 21:18 pm
@charo-337:
gary teichmann’s company had a stand.
they are doing very well in africa.
gary must be a multi-millionaire but still as humble as ever.
8 Feb 2013, 21:20 pm
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/8282616/Asterisk-on-Sonny-Bills-shortened-victory
Asterisk on Sonny Bill’s shortened victory
CHRIS BARCLAY
Last updated 07:36 09/02/2013
It was envisaged as a relaxing big game hunting mission for Sonny Bill Williams yet it was the former All Black who ultimately dodged a bullet as South Africa’s “White Buffalo” insists he was robbed of certain victory after a controversial WBA International heavyweight title fight in Brisbane last night.
Williams’ defeat of an aging though abrasive Francois Botha by unanimous decision inflicted yet another black eye on Australian sport during a week where the country’s professional athletes already stand accused of involvement in rampant drug use and match-fixing.
Two international visitors then added to the ignominy as professional boxing produced yet another farcical footnote to a business already renowned for baffling adjudications.
Williams had been expected to put the 44-year-old self-proclaimed “Buffalo” out to pasture, extend his professional record to 6-0 and add the nondescript WBA belt to his list of sporting achievements before resuming his NRL career at the Sydney Roosters on Monday.
Instead a befuddled Williams’ triumph was greeted by a crescendo of boos inside the Brisbane Entertainment Centre after the bout was sensationally trimmed from the originally scheduled 12 rounds to 10.
Botha plans to lodge a protest but regardless of the next step, Williams’ first win over a credentialed opponent will forever be accompanied by an asterix.
Although Williams dominated the majority of an entertaining encounter, the ring-savvy Botha inflicted serious damage during the 10th and had essentially poleaxed the 27-year-old Kiwi before he was saved by the bell.
Williams was rocked by a series of blows in the dying stages and as he struggled to stay upright during a frantic final three minutes referee Tony Kettlewell deducted a point for holding.
The relief among the Williams camp was palpable when the fight ended with trainer Mick Akkawy leading the charge to support the jelly-legged superstar.
The judging panel’s generous scoring of the bout 97-91, 98-94 97-91 in Williams’ favour further incensed sectors of a crowd angered the contest had been trimmed by six minutes.
Botha geed up a boisterous 4000-strong throng by raising his arms in victory and during a brief ringside interview he labelled the outcome: “Bullshit”.
Later in his dressing room Botha and trainer Hardy Mileham claimed they had been victims of a conspiracy to protect Williams’ unbeaten record.
“At the press conference it was 12 rounds, in the programmes … you cannot change it,” Botha argued.
“If it had gone 12 rounds I would have killed him.”
Mileham insisted the fight was set down for 12 three-minute rounds – a view supported by a graphic carried by the cable TV channel broadcasting the event.
The fact it had been shortened caught everyone off guard, particularly Botha and his corner.
Mileham said he was told during the eighth round the contest had been abbreviated, although he could not identify exactly who relayed the news.
Botha, meanwhile, said his game plan had been sabotaged by the alteration.
“I’m pacing myself and I always finish strong,” said Botha.
“Championship rounds (fights) are 12 rounds.
“There I got screwed. He was out on his feet. All I had to do was push him away and he would have fallen.
“He held on and he got through it.”
Although Williams was undoubtedly the finer physical specimen at the beginning of the main event, Botha used his 60 previous fights worth of experience to wear the novice down.
“I knew I’m going to break him down. This boy has never been later than six (rounds) so I’m going to get him.
“I was pacing myself to finish strong and ‘boom’ it didn’t happen.”
Botha sported a cut to the bridge of his nose and welts under both eyes though never sustained the type of cerebral punishment he inflicted on Williams.
But the pain of his ninth professional defeat still cut deep.
“How can you bend the rules because of a superstar in rugby?” he asked.
“He’s a superstar, he should be winning …. everyone wants him to win, his management wants him to win but how can you go bend the rules? It’s unheard of. They can’t get away with it.”
In tune with the puzzling end to the fight no WBA officials were available for comment – although Botha offered a solution.
“What the WBA should do now if they want to protect their name is immediately order a rematch and the real winner will arise.”
Botha, who transformed himself from pantomime villain in the lead-up to the people’s champion in the eyes of many, was gratified by the crowd reaction.
“I’ve got so much support here. People love me and that alone showed that I’m the winner,” he said.
Williams also had his fair share of support in the stands and raised the prospect of a rematch in Cape Town although it is unlikely his manager Khoder Nasser would entertain another match-up with a fighter of Botha’s durability.Nasser was inevitably in the spotlight during the confusing aftermath, claiming the fight was always going to span 10 rounds.
“My understanding was it was a 10 rounder. If it was a 12 rounder that’s just a total misunderstanding.
“He won, and he won easily. Full stop. They can protest all they want,” he stormed before deflecting attention to Botha’s rough house tactics.
“From our side of the camp we felt there were a lot of things happening in the ring that were totally illegal.
“He got very desperate and very dirty.”
Botha was deducted a point for persistently punching after the break in the ninth round, a dramatic stanza where he also succeeded in clocking Kettlewell twice.
But it was Williams who bore the brunt of Botha’s fists and he was visibly subdued more than an hour after his torment ended.
Unwilling to put a timeframe on when he might factor in his seventh fight, an exhausted Williams said: “I’m just proud to have taken on someone with the experience he has and win out.”
- © Fairfax NZ News
8 Feb 2013, 21:21 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-331:
Based on your predictions before the fight on how SBW will get farked up it is obvious that you know absolutely nothing about the sweet science of boxing and therefore you should in future refrain from even making a comment when rugger players get into some “handbags” on the field
8 Feb 2013, 21:21 pm
@I am a stormer-335:
his lack of morals and just his basic classless Kiwi type behaviour disgusts me totally.
i’m glad Botha moered him.
8 Feb 2013, 21:27 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-341:
Botha lost 8 out of 10 rounds so he is the one who got moered.
If a rugby team leads a match by say 50 points to zero and then score 2 converted tries in the last 5 minutes it does not mean they have won the match. Not even morally. Same with boxing, it is totally fair to be “saved by the bell”., its all part of the magic of the sport.
8 Feb 2013, 21:33 pm
@Robzim-342: What planet do you live on? If one rugby team is leading another but its players are exhausted, getting broken in half in tackles and dropping like flies, is it OK for their coach to speak to the ref and ask him to stop the match at the 60-minute mark?
8 Feb 2013, 21:33 pm
@Robzim-340:
hahaha
is jy ernstig?
Rob, dont be a doos. the fight was supposed to go 12 rounds and any fool could cleary see that SBW was out on his feet in the 10th, Botha allowed him to hang onto him and if he wanted could have pushed him which would have caused him to probably fall over.
the boy received a standing eight count and for all intents and purposes was TKO’d in the tenth. i think we can all agree he would not have made it to the 12th and would have gone down on the 11th.
8 Feb 2013, 21:34 pm
@Robzim-342:
i hope you’re trolling for a friday night larf, boet.
i respect your knowledge of boxing.
8 Feb 2013, 21:36 pm
@Robzim-342:
minus two mysteriously dissapearing rounds?
is that part of the magic of sport?
get real.
8 Feb 2013, 21:40 pm
@Robzim-342:
In all fairness, Rob, SBW was saved by 2 bells. The ones that didn’t ring at the end of rounds 11 and 12.
8 Feb 2013, 21:43 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-336:
I’d go for the other oke.
Serfontein would receive a rugby lesson at how to play at 12 at a very early age. Which is not a bad thing.
8 Feb 2013, 21:43 pm
Boxing is a brutal game… much more brutal then rugby can ever be- an it was a brutal fight- Botha is no mug, he might be fat and old but he is strong, as durable as one can get, he is game, he came out to fight, he is a a master of the cheap shot, he is intimidating in the ring, dirty as hell, has all the experience in the world. etc..ec..
I take my hat of for SBW for having the courage to take him on and for keeping his cool despite the verbal taunts and dirty tactics used by Botha ( it inludes similtaneous head clubbing, hitting on the break, hitting after the break, swearing at the opponent and at his corner ec..etc..
The ref should have disqualified Botha long before the 10th round.
8 Feb 2013, 21:47 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-346:
@I am a stormer-348:
If they decided only during the fight to reduce the rounds from 12 to 10 then I agree with you, then there is obviously something drastically wrong and imo the fight should be declared a no- contest.
But lets wait and see what the organisers say before we jump to conclusions, maybe it was communicated to the 2 camps before the fight?
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