In what had been the most hotly contested grudge match in a generation, Paul Gallen defeated Sonny Bill Williams. Gallen won with a disputed split points decision. The fight, which took place this past weekend, failed to deliver on the pre-fight hype and left MMA fans across the globe scratching their heads over the result. Gallen, a seasoned Australian boxer, faced Williams, a 39-year-old dual international from New Zealand with a towering height advantage of 12 centimeters.
The fight was full of drama as Williams repeatedly lost the plot trying to keep Gallen at bay with his explosive, veteran rushes. Wildly unorthodox, he tried to use Gallen’s aggression against him by holding and clinching, which earned him a warning from referee Les Fear. Williams’s game plan of employing his jab, movement and distance was no match to earn him victory.
In the course of that battle, Williams effectively got a point deduction, which would turn out to be crucial in the judges’ final call. Incredibly one judge scored the contest 77-74 for Williams, with the other two leaning towards Gallen. The point deduction caught many observers by surprise and raised many questions. How any judge could score the fight for Williams even with the foul is unfathomable.
Gallen expressed his confusion regarding the scoring after the match, stating, “I definitely lost one round, I think the second round and there was one other pretty close one and he got a point taken off, so how the hell is he winning on one judge’s card?”
Although he had been defeated, Williams did not attend the post-fight media center. What he hasn’t ruled out is appearing for an interview in the ring. This silence came on the heels of his recent loss to IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia before this fight. Though Williams has been on a losing skid of late, his fellow Kiwi David Nyika was able to recover from a defeat at the hands of Opetaia.
