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Sonny Bill Williams has succeeded in his International WBA Heavyweight title fight against Francois Botha in controversial circumstances, after the title fight appeared to be shortened from 12 round to 10.
Williams won the bout by unanimous decision (97-91, 98-9 4, 97-91) and dominated the fight early, but tired heavily in the final two rounds against a man 17 years his senior.
The lopsided scoreline was a curious one given that the 44-year-old South African finished the fight far stronger.
But the talking point out of this one will be what happened outside instead of inside ring.
From midway through the ninth round Williams had begun to hold on noticeably, and by the end of the ninth was beginning to display the hallmarks of a boxer going toward the distance for the fist time.
When the 10th round begun the announcement proclaimed it the ’10th and final’ round, and confusion snowballed as he reiterated the statement halfway through the round.
Williams stumbled to the bell under siege, assisted by the short break he received late in the round when the referee docked Williams a point for holding on excessively.
After possibly the most drama-filled week in Australian sporting history, the outcome of the fight is certain to receive intense scrutiny in the coming days.
Earlier on in the evening, Queensland Reds star Quade Cooper made a highly impressive professional debut, knocking out Barry Dunnett in the first round.
Cooper showed promising in his first fight, but only fast footwork saved what was poor defensive technique and he was tagged by Dunnett early in the round.
But a ripping left-uppercut flipped the momentum in an instant, felling Dunnett and soon moving in with a glancing right that was enough to send his opponent to the canvas for a second time, ending the fight seconds before the end of the first.
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