Richmond superstar Dustin Martin could be the next footballer to venture into the boxing ring in retirement, with Sonny Bill Williams saying the AFL star has a future in the sport.
Martin has been helping Williams prepare for his fight against AFL great Barry Hall, but has impressed the former All Black with his own boxing talent.
“Dusty, he can throw them himself,” Williams told 9News Sydney. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he got in the ring one day.”
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“I’ve seen him hit the heavy bag and do a bit of training and he knows how to hold himself well in the square office.”
Williams will face off against Hall in a cross-code blockbuster fight on March 23, and has also worked with world champion Tyson Fury in the lead-up.
Turf War: Sonny Bill Williams vs Barry Hall – Live & Exclusive on Stan Event, March 23. Purchase the event now at stan.com.au/event
The 36-year-old is backing himself to teach Hall a lesson in the ring, taking umbrage against the former Sydney Swans star’s “cockiness”.
“I respect Barry as a guy, as a father, and as a man, but I know he doesn’t respect me as a boxer, so I want to go in there and teach him a lesson,” he said.
“I didn’t grow up boxing. I didn’t have any amateur fights, but I feel like I’ve given myself the best opportunity to go out there and give Barry a wake-up call.
“Although he sits there and he talks that I’ve got the experience, and I’ve been this and that, deep down I can see that cockiness in him that he thinks he’s just going to walk through me and smash me.”