Some boxing insiders are scratching their heads at Sonny Bill’s next opponent, Francois ‘The White Buffalo’ Botha.
Sir Bob Jones, who is no fan of Sonny Bill’s boxing talents, finds the decision odd. Not because of Botha’s age but because of Botha’s vast experience, toughness and punching power.
Sir Bob is predicting Sonny Bill to struggle against Botha if it’s an honest fight. Botha is past his prime but he still has the goods to knock Sonny Bill into next week.
Sir Bob knows that Sonny Bill is making a massive step up in class and taking a huge risk when he goes toe to toe with Botha.
And this is why Sir Bob has his doubts about the fight.
Why would Khoder Nasser let Sonny Bill in the ring with Botha?
The progression of Sonny Bill so far has been a familiar road taken by most boxers whose management believe can fight for a world title in the future.
Sonny Bill’s last fight against Clarence Tillman, although mocked by many, was still a step up in class for Sonny Bill who is still in the very early stages of his career. The fight now against Botha just doesn’t make sense.
Even Botha, speaking on South African radio, says that Sonny Bill is not ready for his level just yet. Botha compared Sonny Bill to Flo Simba, who Botha knocked out last year.
Flo Simba was a good heavyweight prospect who rattled off nine KO’s and an UD in his first 10 fights.
The step up in class was too much for the young fighter and Botha knocked him out in the sixth round. Flo went on to lose three (all by KO) of his next four fights, all against fighters he was expected to beat.
Flo has now hung up his gloves indefinitely to concentrate on his studies.
So far in Japan, Sonny Bill hasn’t been doing much sparring. He’s just been getting his boxing conditioning sorted and is expected to begin the serious sparring when he returns to Australia next week to prepare for the fight on Nov 24.
Sonny Bill has said in a radio interview about the fight that the prospect of stepping in the ring with Botha is daunting and that he has nothing but respect for Botha and his achievements in the ring.
Sonny Bill also accepted that he was taking a huge risk against Botha but feels that taking risks always brings the best out of him.
I wonder how Sonny Bill is feeling about the risk now because since that interview was done, Tony Mundine has quit as Sonny Bill’s trainer because of the fallout between his son Anthony and Nasser.
Tony Mundine has said that he can’t be involved and is moving on. He wished Sonny Bill all the best but said that he had to back his son.
Anthony Mundine has said that he has no issue with Sonny Bill continuing his association with Nasser.
“We’re brothers, man,” Mundine said. “We’ll always be there for each other. Sometimes it’s hard in situations like this, My dad has done what any father would do for his son, as for Khoder, I don’t want to go there. I lost my trust in him.”
So now just under a month before the biggest fight of Sonny Bill’s career, he’s lost his trainer. Word is Jeff Fenech may be interested but regardless of who trains Sonny Bill, the whole Mundine-Nasser fallout would be a huge distraction.
Yesterday David Lord wrote about how talented Sonny Bill was, however I believe he left out one of the traits that Sonny Bill has that makes him special: courage. Taking on Botha this early in his career is almost insane.
Actually, it is insane.
I’m a Sonny Bill supporter and I know that he’s got the talent to do very well in boxing eventually, but not next month.
If he beats Botha, I believe given his background story, this would be Sonny Bill’s greatest sporting achievement to date.
Come November 24 we’ll all find out.
lloyd
Guest
id be amazed if willians can hurt botha ,this fight is just plain weird and why isnt williams sparring with david tua to get ready for the fight that would be logical,even getting some advice from the tua man ,the only chance he has is jab and move ,botha will walk straight through him ,after 1 king hit if sonny doesnt go down he will be holding on to botha for dear life ,botha will get madder with this and it wont take much to end the fight ,sonnys manager is an obvious moron even to loose the mundine camp at such a crucial time is crazey in itself,sonny just doesnt have the skills hes fought no bodys ,i wish him the best hes got balls to do this
steve b
Guest
I love it,to nice Grafter .
The Great G Nepia
Guest
Having said the above, I;ve just seen Botha on Youtube being knocked out a few times. Doesn't look good. More like "White Fluffy Teddy Buffalo".
The Great G Nepia
Guest
SBW is going to get his ar*&% kicked, no two ways about it. One punch and botha will knock him on to the mat.
The Great G Nepia
Guest
100% agree. Botha may be over the hill and overweight, but pro boxing at this level is not all about ripped muscles and aerobic fitness. It's about having strong ribs and anding one punch.
The Grafter
Guest
Give Sonny my regards Mrs Williams.
simo
Guest
The Jones vs Green fight was fixed, 9/11 was an inside job and tupac is still alive in cuba! Jones got hit with a great temple shot end of story. there was plenty of speculation that Green was using loaded gloves in that fight, but Jones has a history of being a sore loser. Sonny Bill will knock out Botha and people will start to believe this guy can be a boxing superstar. I agree his left hand is a worry he'll need to keep that near his face or he'll get tagged. Sonny has speed, footwork and power and will go a long way if he so desires.
CBDoggz4lyfe
Guest
true that, the last thing to go on a good fighter is his punch, Botha was never known for being anything but a brawler even had a few K1/MMA fights!if he can get one good shot off, doesnt matter how young or old, when it lands (eg George Foreman v Michael Moorer) you're going down. I have not seen anything in SBW that really warrants being considered anything other than a professional athlete dabbling in a few sports other than his/her own specialty. I love the guy and wish him the best but may have bitten off more than he can chew
The Grafter
Guest
Alot of the islanders swear by taro Bob as a natural 'steroid'. Im not to sure, but know former heavyweight from Auckland Jimmy Peau (AKA Thunder who is still credited with the fastest KO in boxing history) was a speciman in his teens.
Bob Anderson
Guest
About doping in sports, does anyone believe that Sonny Bill's physique is 100% naturally developed? I mean regardless of how much time spent in the gym, I find that a bit too much to believe. Just sayin.
Seriously, Who says Oi?
Guest
You're absolutely right. There's no reason to believe that Botha should lose this "fight". To me it already looks fishy. Did you know that, outside of Australia & Nz, this fight isn't even available on television? It'll only be broadcasted on the internet for $10 USD (including South Africa).
swifty
Guest
great white buffalo great white buffalo great white buffalo
Damien
Roar Guru
I thought Green's punch was illegal but thats just me. Well NZ is part of Brisbane isn't it. There's plenty of Kiwi's round here. LOL. It's odd but I suppose its sort of like when teams play their 'home' games elsewhere to make some extra cash. (Crusaders v Sharks in Twickenham 2011, Origin in Melb ?) I'm really keen to see who becomes SBW's trainer..
Damien
Roar Guru
The fighters profile/media thing is a complicated beast I hear. And i suppose it is what it is. SBW and the PPV is an easy one for mine. Mundine set the foundations with his fights years ago and SBW's riding that wave. I'm talking contacts wise. Main Event wouldn't do it if it didn't make money and there's no need to go into the whole SBW marketing machine thing. I got really sad when I saw Kastidis's last fights. Some guys just have too much heart, and its really sad to see. I might make it to the Mansfield on the 23rd. Thats my ole stomping ground. Hopefully we bump into each other so I can buy you a drink and talk abit of the sweet science. I'm not as knowledgeable as you and Steve but I think it would be great to listen to some ole timers LOL. And about the Fight for Life card. Well Lonergan has no right to bag Nasser and SBW about their fights, if this is what he constantly dishes up. Just quietly I'm really keen to see how some of these tough guys go LOL..
steve b
Guest
Its being marketed as NZ v Sa in Brisbane ah ok . Roy Jones gets knocked out first round by Green then two months later goes the distance with the excutioner i think alot found the green jones fight a bit odd But thats just my view . .
The Grafter
Guest
I tend to blame the Australian media Damian. Look at Kastidis. Moved to Vegas in 05, fought anyone they put him against. What was the media here doing? having a lovathon with Green and Mundine. Kastidis is held in HIGH esteem in the US, even after losing 4 of his last five. Ditto UK (The Earl fight had Earls camp throwing the towel and the ref kicking it back out). Mick is currently here on the Coast training. Mundine had had every fight on PPV. Something not quite right there with Williams going down a similar path (at least Mundine could fight 4-5 years ago). Yes mate, I do think that about Jones. First fight outsiide the US since Seoul and he falls over. There is rumours within the fight game........Briggs is a mess these days. Shouldnt of been allowed to fight, but Danny knew that. Cameron losses plenty dropping to cruiser. Green should win. Col Wilson would do Williams Damian, even with his crook knee. Yup Hamdan is ok. A tough buggar with a big heart. Showed that throughout his career. I hear what your saying re playing it up. Think it goes back to Georgoeus George in the 50's? Ill be at the Mansfield 23rd supporting Brett Smith, then going to local Sat dependant on the card. Perhaps we should be talking about Gallen vs Hika Elliot, Carlos Spencer vs Jarad McCraken, Troy Flavell vs Willie Mason or Rene Ranger v Greg Bird in Auckland during December zzzzzzzz. :)
Damien
Roar Guru
Hey Steve, What was your problem with the RJJ v Green fight ?. I must have missed something. Thats cool. As for the SBW fight, its being marketed as a NZ v SA fight. Botha was asked why is the fight happening in Oz instead of NZ or SA. It basically came down to money. During the Super 15 this year Botha was calling out SBW saying that he'll KO him at the halftime break of the All Black Sringbok game with one hand tied behind his back. Now Botha has said he is only taking this fight because of SBW's profile and the history between the AB's and Bok's. So we shouldn't be thinking of this as an Australian fight because it was supposed to happen in SA. The fight is being shown on Fox and Sky in NZ & Oz and is also getting streamed online. The online streaming option is a new option but I think Nasser is just makng use of technology to get the fight out as wide as possible. The fight streamed live will cost $10 for the early birds and $15 if you take it up on the day. Not sure if Main Event is getting involved for the OZ & NZ telecast, Interesting that there is no SA telecast as yet. They will have to watch the fight online. But apparently they are going to show it in sports clubs etc in SA. I'd be really interested to see what happens with the split. Anyway it doesn't affect me personally coz it's not like I have money invested with them. As for homegrown talent in Oz and NZ I'm not sure if any of them have the profile internationally that Botha has. SBW will bring all the Australians and Kiwi's and Botha brings all the South Africans. South Africa would not have been as interested if SBW was fighting an Australian or Kiwi. They still would have watched but now that Botha is involved they have really gotten behind the fight. Botha's got all these Springbok's and South African sports stars helping with the promotions on the SA side. SBW doesn't need any help over this side. Anyway, lets just see how the fight pans out before the 'match fixing' slur gets bandied about..
steve b
Roar Guru
Hey Damiien i have been involved in boxing on and of thirty years and Grafter probably a little bit longer ha, ha , no offence to Grafter , No in all seriousness there is something wrong when you bring a bloke out from SA ,when their is plenty of hometown talent right here in Aus . Grafter is spot on if it is going to be a real fight Williams will get smashed so i have my doubt's this is not the same as Roy Jones ,Green fiasco . It happens mate , and this one stinks already ....
Damien
Roar Guru
LOL. Thanks macka, That analysis is spoken by one who has indeed copped plenty of overhand rights while retreating front foot first straight back !! Oh the amount of times the trainer would yell and just shake his head LOL..
macka
Guest
That's pretty darn detailed analysis of what SBW has to do & avoid. I reckon you should put your hand up to replace tony. I too wish for a SBW victory, but i just can't imagine how that is going to happen at all. Botha's last fight was against an Italian who is 1.Bigger than SBW 2.Had 29 fights 3.Never lost even 1 of those figts However, Botha still managed to go all the way with him & only lose on points. & i read that Botha was way more out of shape for that fight compared to what he will be for SBW!!! I read that even Nasser was against this fight, but SBW was adamant. So now i ask, how can SBW stand even 1% chance against Botha? Either SBW is 1.much better than what we are lead to believe, 2.is reckless, 3.has succumbed to the pressure of people who want him to take on serious opposition, 4.is deluded about his own capabilities. 5.Is a very fast learner, who backs his ability to get the job done - which wouldn't surprise me with all his past success In no way do i believe the fight will be rigged, neither SBW nor Botha would want that or need that. But if SBW does indeed win convincingly then all i can say is i will have a new level of admiration for the bloke.