Former All Black Sonny Bill Williams’s boxing career plumbed a new depth of farce on Friday when he claimed a controversial victory over a middle-aged South African who had him on the ropes before the bout was cut short by two rounds.
The 27-year-old was in trouble at the end of his sixth professional fight in Brisbane against 44-year-old Francois Botha, and jeers rang out from the crowd when he was announced winner after 10 rounds.
Williams said both boxers knew it would be a 10-round fight in a post on his Twitter account on Saturday, and Botha’s promoter told local media he had reluctantly agreed to the change shortly before the fight.
But the news seemed to have escape an incensed Botha, who described the result as “match-fixing”, along with enraged fans and bookmakers.
An Australian boxing official told local pay TV channel Fox Sports on Saturday that both camps had agreed to shorten the bout from 12 rounds to 10.
