Sport-hopping is here to stay
Having waltzed straight back into the All Blacks ranks after completing his second stint in the NRL in September, Sonny Bill Williams will squeeze in his seventh professional boxing bout next month, before resuming his Super Rugby career with the Chiefs.
The 29-year-old admits it's a punishing schedule but says athletes pushing the limits and maximising their earning potential are part and parcel of modern sport.
Williams says there was a ready market of fans who wanted to see stars like NSW League captain Paul Gallen having a crack at boxing.
"That's just the sport that it is. As much as it is a sport, it's entertainment as well," said Williams ahead of his heavyweight fight with American Chauncy Welliver in Sydney on January 31.
"These are the players that some kids look up to and they want to watch them get in the ring, and these guys want to push themselves. They want to make a bit of extra coin on the side to what they're doing in footy and so be it.
"But everyone's got to realise that it is a dangerous sport as well and that you're one punch from a knockout. As I just about found out last fight [against veteran South African heavyweight Frans Botha]."
Arguably the world's most successful dual international, Williams has won a World Cup, a Super Rugby title and NRL premierships with two different clubs.
In his well-qualified opinion, Williams gave Sam Burgess' defection from the NRL to English club rugby the thumbs up. But he was unsure if the Englishman would make the transition in time to make an impact at the 2015 World Cup.
"Obviously, being the special athlete that he is, he's going to make it but it's just about how long a time-frame does he have? It's just how long will it take? So it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of how long from my perspective.
"You have his coach from Bath saying that he wants to play [Burgess] in the forwards and obviously his English coach wants him to play at inside centre, so who knows. But I know he'll make it, it's just a matter of how long," he added.
Williams has spent most of his League career in the back row, playing only sparingly in the centres.
In Union, though, he has played almost exclusively in the backline, mostly in the centres but also successfully on the wing during the 2011 World Cup.
"I played 30 minutes [in the back row] when I was in Toulon and I had to put the head gear on. I'm not too sure if Sammy likes to put the head gear on. But it's cool to see players stepping out of their comfort zone and having a go, especially players at the top of their game.
"You've got Jarryd Hayne over [attempting to break] in American Football. These type of things open doors and avenues for players that they never [previously] thought about. Although the League fraternity probably don't like it, the Union fraternity probably doesn't like it, it's cool for sportsmen, for young kids coming up to know that there's not just that one door," he stated.
AAP
