Sonny Bill to Box Botha in Durban

New Zealand rugby star Sonny Bill Williams will fight former heavyweight contender Francois Botha in Durban on 17 November, according to a promoter.

Promoter Thinus Strydom said arrangements for the bout, which is scheduled for Durban on 17 November, were concluded this week.

All Blacks wing Williams is the New Zealand heavyweight champion.

Botha, 43, has fought Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Wladimir Klitschko in a 59-bout career.

Asked earlier this year about a possible fight against Williams, Botha told South African newspaper Rapport he would do it "during half-time of a rugby match" with "one hand tied behind my back".

The 27-year-old Williams helped New Zealand beat Australia on Saturday but is quitting the All Blacks to play rugby union in Japan next season.

Since 2009 he has boxed five times, winning all of his bouts.

Blacks Sony Bill in NRL 2013 Return

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All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams will return to the NRL in 2013 after a stint playing Japanese club rugby.

The 26-year-old dual international told reporters in Hamilton on Monday he would play rugby league in 2013 but refused to elaborate on who he will be playing for.

Williams, who is believed to be joining Sydney Roosters next year, says he had a "handshake agreement" in place for the 2013 NRL season but nothing had been signed.

He will join the Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan later this year and will not return to New Zealand rugby after his five-month stint is over.

Japan's Top League season begins on August 31, running until the end of January, and it has been estimated he will earn as much as $1.7 million for his time in Japan.

The timing of the Japanese season will allow Williams to make a return to rugby league in 2013.

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said he was hopeful Williams would again play Test rugby for New Zealand and NZRU chief executive Steve Tew noted that he had not ruled out a return in the future.

Hansen said that while Williams has only been in New Zealand rugby for two seasons his contribution had been immense.

"He came to New Zealand rugby two years ago as a convert player and was similar to Brad Thorn in that regard," Hansen said in a press release.

"Sonny had high level slills and freakish abilities without a fully developed game.

"This season we have seen the birth of Sonny as a rugby player with his game understanding complementing his array of skills.

"His performance in the Test series against Ireland showed that he was world class.

"It is a shame and disappointing that New Zealand Rugby is losing him.

"In talking to him I know the decision has been a tough one but we fully respect why he hs made this decision.

"He is an outstanding athlete who has stamped his mark on the game and hopefully this is not the last time we see him in New Zealand Rugby."

Hansen also praised Williams's manager Khoder Nasser for the way negotiations had been handled.

"Khoder has been nothing but straight up in his dealings with myself and the NZRU and kept us informed right from day one," he said.

"We may not always have agreed but we appreciated his honesty and his transparency."

Will you be happy to see Sonny Bill come back to the NRL? Have your say now.

Williams controversially walked out on his NRL team Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in 2008, just 18 months into a five-year deal to join French rugby club Toulon.

He was part of last year's Rugby World Cup-winning All Blacks team, and showed commanding form in the three-Test series against Ireland last month.

Williams, who is nearing the end of a one-year deal with Super Rugby franchise the Chiefs, is also expected to continue his professional boxing career.

Sonny Bill in Roosters Rumour

 

All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams is adamant that nothing has been set in stone regarding his future despite continual reports linking him with a move back to rugby league.

NRL side the Sydney Roosters are rumoured to be keen on bringing Williams back from union and reports in Australia claim that he drove to Sydney, with Chiefs team-mate Liam Messam, after their match with the Reds in Brisbane last Sunday to meet with the Roosters.

Reports in New Zealand also suggest that Japanese side Panasonic have tabled a monster offer for Williams' services but the centre is adamant that, although he admits the attention is nice, no deal has been agreed.

''It is always good to be in demand, whether it be in Japan or France or back in Australia,'' Williams told the Herald. ''If you are not playing well no one is going to want you. It is good to have those options but at the moment I am happy doing what I am doing and nothing is concrete yet.

''It has been well documented that I have caught up with Nick, he has always wanted me to come back to the NRL and nothing has changed. He still wants me to come back but no decision about my future has been made. Despite what people say, there has been no contract signed with the Roosters.''

Sonny Bill Knocks Out Tillman

World Cup-winning rugby star Sonny Bill Williams won the New Zealand heavyweight title with a first-round knockout of Clarence Tillman.

Williams, who played the final four minutes of the All Blacks' victory over France in October, beat veteran Tillman with a second of round one remaining.

The win means Williams has won all five of his professional bouts, three of them by way of knockout.

The 26-year-old gave away 44lb in weight to his American opponent.

Williams is competing as a boxer on a part-time basis before he starts the 2012 Super Rugby campaign with the Waikato Chiefs, for whom he signed after last year's Rugby World Cup.

Williams was originally scheduled to take on Richard Tutaki for the crown vacated by Shane Cameron but Tutaki's arrest on drug charges saw 34-year-old Tillman drafted in as a late replacement.

After the two boxers sounded each other out early in the clash in Hamilton, New Zealand, Williams connected with a good left hook and finished Tillman off with a flurry of blows that left his opponent with his head hanging out of the ring.

There was plenty of ill feeling going into the clash after the fighters' altercation at Tuesday's weigh-in and that continued during the fight, with the duo having to be separated as they banged shoulders and exchanged words.

Fact File

2002: Signs for rugby league team Sydney Bulldogs

2004: Makes Bulldogs debut aged 18, and New Zealand Test debut months later

2008: Leaves the Bulldogs to sign for French rugby union club Toulon, again debuting for the national side within months

2009: Makes professional boxing debut

2011: Signs for New Zealand Super Rugby team Crusaders and is part of the All Blacks side that wins the Rugby World Cup in October

2012: Wins vacant New Zealand heavyweight title in Hamilton