Sonny Bill Williams walks into the gymnasium like he’s was walking onto a yacht.
It’s just after 6pm and Williams strides into the Elouera-Tony Mundine Gym in Redfern, the door held open for him by the man the facility is named after. Heads turn.
Williams is a semi-regular here, but it’s hard not to stare at that frame, all 191cm and 110kg of it, no matter how many times you’ve seen it before.
It’s the countdown to the fight against Mark Hunt, one of the hardest punchers in combat sports. Most of the hard work, including the sparring sessions, has already been done. This workout, nine days from battle, is part of the tapering phase, one of the last solid hit outs before they punch on for real.
You could call it tying up loose ends but later, speaking during his warm down, Williams describes it as ‘Tying up your camel’.
The phrase comes from a Hadith, an account attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. The proverb outlines the story of a Bedouin man about to leave his camel without first securing it. When the Prophet asks why he doesn’t tether his camel, the Bedouin replies “I put my trust in Allah”, knowing it’s unlikely the camel will wander away.
The Prophet then responds: “Tie your camel first, and then put your trust in Allah.”
The overriding message is to take personal responsibility, then to put faith into the Almighty.
“That’s my mantra,” Williams says. “Tie the camel up each day and leave the rest up to God.”
The Herald has taken up a prime spot on the ring apron to watch one of the world’s greatest athletes fasten a double knot. Others, including Reni Maitua, Williams’ great mates from the Bulldogs days, do likewise. Some of the greatest Indigenous athletes in history – Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Arthur Beetson, Eddie Betts, Eddie Gilbert – bear witness from framed photos that have been hung around the redeveloped gymnasium.
Sonny Bill Williams is fighting fit.Credit:Getty
Once hands have been strapped and limbs loosened, Williams walks between the ropes. Mundine, barefoot and with focus mitts strapped to his hands, does likewise.
For the first few minutes, Williams is fighting an invisible Hunt, shadow-boxing his way into the contest. Unlike most boxing gymnasiums, there’s no music. The only sound is the swish of Williams’ feet as they dance across the canvas or the exertions of other members training away on their own.
Then it’s time to hit the pads of Mundine, father of Anthony Mundine and boxing legend in his own right, for six rounds.
Williams begins with the left hand; one, two, three. Bap. Bap. Bap. He does this for a whole minute before throwing his first right, which then morphs into a combination.
Sonny Bill Williams goes through his paces.Credit:Nine
All the while, Mundine is moving him around; making Williams come forward, pushing him back towards the ropes. Over the ensuing rounds, every square inch of the ring is covered.
It’s soon evident that this will be a workout for both of them.
“That there, is the fittest 71-year-old in the world,” says Williams’ long-time friend and advisor Khoder Nasser, nodding towards Mundine.
As the rounds tick by, Mundine is upping the combinations. Occasionally, he will see a movement that needs correcting, like an uppercut that needs to be shortened up. Only after the kink is fixed do they move onto the next combo.
By now Williams is a lather of sweat. His red t-shirt is saturated and clings tight to that incredible physique. At one point Mundine demands “More power” and the former footballer obliges.
This is perhaps the most interesting moment in the whole session. The narrative throughout the build-up is that Hunt is the more powerful, more dangerous pugilist. When it is later put to Williams that he needs to avoid his opponent’s early barrage, that he can’t afford to get caught early, the 37-year-old bristles up, ever so slightly.
“People forget, because of my soft nature, how I used to play footy,” he says.
“I was known for being aggressive, for being that type of player. I didn’t shy away from the physicality. It’s the fight game, you’re going to get hit.”
Translation; I also have cement in my hands.
This was never more evident than in his previous fight. Barry Hall came from boxing pedigree, was perhaps unlucky to emerge from his Paul Gallen encounter with only a draw and was meeting Williams post-shoulder surgery.
And yet Williams knocked out “Big, Bad Barry” within two minutes.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Williams throws a three-punch combination.
It’s now the sixth round of the session. Up until now, Williams has been doing all the punching. Now, Mundine decides to hit back. The veteran becomes the aggressor, forcing Williams to defend. The older man feints with his left, comes over with his right, Williams covers up.
Sonny Bill Williams is ready to rumble.Credit:Getty
“Get him Tone!”
The voice of Nasser reverbates around the gymnasium. Williams is throwing out warning jabs, utilising the reach that allowed to offload the football around would-be defenders.
Mundine, undeterred, walks in and slips a cheeky grazing shot.
“He clipped ya!” bellows Nasser with a chuckle.
The buzzer signals the end of the sixth round and Mundine’s work is done. Williams saunters over to a heavy bag, where he sits down on his punches, before climbing back into the ring.
A new dance partner joins him. A bloke in a black beanie, gloveless, steps in for the final two rounds of shadow sparring. Black Beanie is light, fast and aggressive, coming at Williams at Pythagorean angles. This is when Williams is at his most vulnerable, fatigued from what has come before.
Williams bides his time, sees an opening and throws a quick overhand right which, had he been aiming for the head instead of the space just near it, would have signalled the end of Black Beanie.
“People forget, because of my soft nature, how I used to play footy. I was known for being aggressive.”
Sonny Bill Williams
The session, save for the warm-down stretching, is over.
“It’s going to be a dangerous fight, but at the end of the day, I’ve done the hard yards,” Williams says.
“It’s 10-12 weeks of hard training and in the last couple of weeks you try to get a bit sharper, that’s what it is really. It’s been a pleasure, this camp. I feel I’ve improved as a fighter since the Barry Hall fight, I’ve been doing this for a couple of years now. I’m enjoying it, to still have a purpose at this age, to be able to transition out of sport this way is nice.”
One of the last things he says before taking off his sweat-soaked shirt, revealing one of the greatest physiques in world sport before towelling down and changing, is: “I’m just trying to tie up the camel. That’s all I can do, bro.”
SBW v Hunt:Watch the SBW v Hunt Pay-Per-View featuring Tevita Pangai Junior live & exclusive on Stan this Saturday 5 November from 6pm AEDT. New customers can sign up for a Stan free trial and order the Pay-Per-View here.
