Sonny Bill Williams: Kiwi boxer on his animosity with Paul Gallen ahead of their fight

Sonny Bill Williams’ focus is remaining on the much-anticipated bout against Paul Gallen. 

Animosity has been building between the two former rugby players turned boxers, with Williams even claiming Gallen thinks he’s above Polynesians. 

He joined Piney in studio to discuss his preparations for the fight, and the tensions between him and his opponent.  

“I think the reason this grudge match is so big is because of, y’know, the animosity that’s been brewing for the last ten years,” Williams said. 

“Every opportunity he has, he’s taking digs at me.” 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalk ZEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Eleven minutes past two.

Speaker 3 (00:14):
It's a fight that's been ten years in the making,
but is finally about to happen. After a decade of
verbal jabs back and forth. Keiwe Cross code sporting legend
Sonny Bill Williams and Australian rugby league hard man Paul
Gallon will finally meet in the boxing ring at Kudos
Bank Arena in Sydney on Wednesday, July sixteenth from seven

(00:36):
thirty New Zealand Time, powered by Minukah Fuel. The fight
will be live an Excuse exclusive rather in New Zealand
on pay per view from Sky Arena and Sky Sport Now.
Two time Rugby World Cup winner, two time NRL Premiership winner,
Super Rugby Champion, twenty sixteen Olympian and boxer Sonny Bill
Williams is with us in the studio. Thanks for stopping

(00:58):
in Sunny. This seems to have taken an age to arrive.
Why has this taken so long?

Speaker 2 (01:03):
This fight?

Speaker 4 (01:05):
Yeah, I don't know. Man's I think over the years
he's taken a lot of punch shots at me and
saying I'm this, I'm mad. I don't want to fight him,
but to be honest and to be quite frank man,
when I was playing for the All Blacks for those years,
I don't really think about getting back into the boxing ring.
So probably just timing. I guess, you know, life's about time,
and so we're here right now and I'm bloody excited

(01:27):
to get in the ring with him.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
How do you feel about Paul Gallon?

Speaker 4 (01:33):
I don't know. It's hard because over the years, obviously
he's thought about me a lot, call him out, calling
me out every chance he has, But I've never really
thought about him, honey, until now at the press conference
where I finally got to speak some truth about him.
Where where when my old mate then decided not to
turn up. I think that's when all the emotions kind

(01:57):
of come out because over the years, No, not really,
he's not I don't really have a poster in my
house of Paul or anything like that.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
Bro, he didn't come to the pre fight press conference.
What did you make of that?

Speaker 4 (02:10):
I just think that's what type of individual he is
and how he looks at me and my people that
you know, obviously he thinks he's better than us. I've
been in dressing rooms with these type of characters before,
where they love to suck up all the oxygen and
then if you speak, you know, you're not really heard.
So I think for me it was a reflection of

(02:31):
him thinking that myself Polynesians are dummies in his eyes,
you know. And and we held the press conference together.
It was actually better with probably with Adam there, but
at the same time, it was quite disappointing because I
had a few questions I wanted to ask him.

Speaker 3 (02:51):
Well, I guess you could ask them in the ring
when you get in there in a month or so.
You haven't been in the ring for a while, three
years since your last fight. Yeah, is he the only
opponent you would have come back for?

Speaker 4 (03:01):
It had to be big. Look, I was retired, man.
We tried to make this fight happen three years ago
after I lost to Mark. I'm a realist, you know,
I'm I'm not I didn't make my name in the
boxing ring. I'm not a boxer, but you know, I'm
athletic enough to be able to get in there and
you know, win some fights. So I think the reason

(03:25):
why this scrudge match is so big is because of
you know, the animosity that's been brewing for the last
ten years. And like I said, every opportunity he has,
he's taking digs at me. So after the Mark can't fight,
like I said, we try to make the fight happen.
They got right down to the final while final hurdle.
I'm pretty much almost gonna announce it, and he's come

(03:48):
back and said he wanted a bigger piece of the
buy instead of fifty to fifty. So that was the
question I wanted to ask at the press conference. What
have you been doing the last three years? You know?
What are all these rumors? What are these people calling
me about saying that you're on performance hunting drugs? You know?
And that's the worry that I had because the last
three years I've been training for life. When you train
for when you're training to get in the ring, it's

(04:09):
a different field, of different buzz, of different mentality. So
going from going from changing nappies to you know, potentially
getting in the ring and punching someone in the face
has been quite easy because of the animosity that there
is between me and poor.

Speaker 3 (04:24):
I was going to ask about that because having been
out of the ring for so long, how long does
it take to get fight fit again.

Speaker 4 (04:31):
I'm not too sure. You know, people think, okay, because
I've had a few fights. I'm a full time boxer.
I've had ten fights over in fifteen years. So for
me it always come easy because it was at the
end of a season, for example, and I was naturally
like I was almost there fitness wise. Now three years

(04:53):
out of doing professional sport, it's been really tough. The
mind and the heart is there, but the body has
been struggling quite a bit. So I think that's the
difference when you get a little bit older, my bro. So, yeah,
this this camp has been really really tough.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
Eight two minute rounds. Does that suit you?

Speaker 4 (05:13):
Yeah? I think it's it's more of an equalizer. You know,
there's been enough. There's been a lot said about the
two minutes, especially from my from my old mate, but
to be honest, I don't know anyone anything, you know,
when they came to me. I had these rumors. I
had these phone calls saying, you know, he's been in
the ring, he's on these things that you should get
on which I'll never touch, and you're going to get

(05:34):
a phone call. Two weeks later, our copper phone call
about it. Well, if you want me to get off
my couch, you want me to change my mindset for
training to life to training to fight, well, these are
the these are the boundaries that I need that to
be in place. And obviously the two minutes are there.
But the drug testing story hasn't happened, happened, so I'm
not too sure what's happening there. He's come out, he

(05:55):
said he'll take drug he'll be drug tested, but nothing's happened.
No Asada has called me, No one's wrong me about
your whereabouts, And that's what usually happens in a professional sitting.
So yeah, it's it's one of those things where I
think that the people involved understand that there may be
a chance that something might come up and then the
fight will be caught off. So for me, it's it's

(06:16):
a bit of an equalizer, you know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (06:18):
So do you need that to happen before you'll fight
them or are you just going to expect.

Speaker 4 (06:23):
I don't think it's going to happen. I don't think
it's going to happen, to be honest, And that's hence
the reason why I was adamant and having these two
things in place, so one of them is being ticked off.
So we're going to get in the ring and find out.

Speaker 2 (06:37):
Is this your last fight? Is just the last hurrah?

Speaker 4 (06:39):
Yeah? I think so ber, I think man, I think
so bro.

Speaker 2 (06:44):
How's the finot five kids?

Speaker 4 (06:46):
Man?

Speaker 2 (06:46):
How are you going?

Speaker 4 (06:47):
Yeah? Everyone's good man, that's five kids, It's five blessings.
It's the hardest job in the world, but it's the
most rewarding job in the world, you know. So I've
gone up to Gold Coast. I'm training in Joy's camp
along with his father, and it's been tough. But for me,
I needed to step away from you know, I'm naturally

(07:09):
a soft, teddy bearverer, so I needed to get into
that mental state where it's kill be killed. Because my
last fight, I looked at Mark like just one of
the allsorts, one of the brothers. Ayea, we're gonna get in.
We're gonna have a bit of a fight, you know. Nah,
that's not gonna happen like that. So that's why I've
taken myself out of my family environment and I'm up there, training,

(07:31):
training hard daily, just ready to give this guy a
good hiding.

Speaker 2 (07:35):
And it's just the warriors year.

Speaker 4 (07:37):
I hope, so man, I hope. So I think let's
let's see a warrior's bulldogs fin good one. Wuldn't it well?

Speaker 3 (07:44):
Before that can happen, we look forward to Wednesday July sixteen.
You and Paul Gallon in the ring in Sydney. Sonny,
thanks for stopping in. All the best for the month
ahead and for the fight on July sixteen.

Speaker 4 (07:54):
That's goal. Thanks man, take care now.

Speaker 2 (07:56):
You take care as well. That's Sunny Bill Williams joining
us in studio. So there you go. Kudos.

Speaker 3 (08:00):
Bank Arena, Sydney, Wednesday July sixteen, from seven thirty. It's
New Zealand time. Minuka Fuel are powering the fight. It's available.
I have an exclusive here in New Zealand on pay
per view from Sky Arena and Skysport Now.

Speaker 1 (08:11):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
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