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  • New Zealand Listener

    ONE of a KIND

    Oct 24, 2021 4 minutes
    by PAUL THOMAS

    The ring announcer at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre contradicted his insistence that the boxer he was about to introduce needed no introduction: “He is the pride of New Zealand; he is Sonny Boy Williams.” What Sonny Bill really didn’t need was that introduction.

    Aside from the fact that getting the contestants’ names right is the ring announcer’s sine qua non, the gaffe was flabbergasting because his premise was undeniably correct: Sonny Bill Williams was and remains one of the most famous celebrity sports stars in Australasia.

    By 2013, he had been a leading light in either rugby league or union

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