MMA great Mark Hunt has come out of retirement to inflict the first loss of Sonny Bill Williams’ career in the most stunning fashion.
48-year old Hunt, who hadn’t fought since losing to Paul Gallen in late 2020, recovered from an early onslaught from Williams, 11 years his junior, to turn the tables spectacularly in the fourth round.
A string of monster blows sent the New Zealander’s mouthguard flying; while Williams soldiered on, another crushing right hook shortly after brought an emphatic end to proceedings.
“He’s hurt. Against the odds, Sonny Bill Williams has been dropped,” commentator Andy Raymond said on Stan Sport.
“Mark Hunt, in his final fight, stops the legend that is Sonny Bill Williams. What a fight!”
“My first thought after that was, ‘s–t, I want to do that again!” Hunt joked after the bout, expected to be his last.
But when pressed, he quipped ‘No!’, confirming his re-retirement – for now.
Such an upset looked unlikely when Hunt was made to look every inch his age amid a white-hot start from the rugby legend.
Williams landed several heavy blows on Hunt, who reportedly dropped 30 kilograms in preparation for the fight, and landed nearly half his punches compared to Hunt’s 20 per cent.
The Super Samoan would regularly get caught on the ropes in the early rounds, and while he showed his combat nous by holding Williams in close to deny him a free swing, it was clearly the former All Black’s fight to lose.
Mark Hunt throws a punch as Sonny Bill Williams goes down during their heavyweight fight. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
After three rounds and with Hunt showing clear signs of fatigue, all signs pointed to a Williams win unless Hunt came out swinging and first a knockout – and swing he did.
After a monstrous series of body shots followed by a vicious right hook felled Williams, the momentum shifted in an instant. His corner took every second of time available after Williams regathered his feet for the New Zealander to recover, but Hunt sensed a kill.
Another massive right hand was the killer blow, Williams’ mouthguard flying as the referee intervened.
“It was an honour to share the ring with you – you were just too good tonight,” a classy Williams said to Hunt following the fight.
“At the end of the day… I tried my best, and I just wasn’t good enough.
“There were not too much positives to take out of that, but at the end of the day, being able to share the ring with a legend like Mark, it was special.”
Earlier on the undercard, Bulldog Tevita Pangai Jr showed his boxing credentials with a brutal knockout of Jeremiah Tupai-ui, for his second career KO in just two fights.
The NRL enforcer ended the fight in emphatic style with a brutal right-hand jab that left Tupai-ui prone on the floor, with Pangai Jr showing class afterwards by checking on his fallen foe’s welfare.
His performance led to Bulldogs general manager and NRL legend Phil Gould taking to Twitter to make light of a difficult recent conversation with Pangai Jr over his poor 2022, which he admitted was a ‘wake-up call’ earlier in the week.
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