Heartbreak hill and Dolly Parton: Inside SBW’s training camp with Tyson Fury

Not long after he touched down in England for his training camp with Tyson Fury, Sonny Bill Williams was running up a mountain with the heavyweight champion.

This was the first test Fury had set Williams, a tortuous eight-kilometre upwards trek to determine whether the cross-code star belonged in his company.

“When we were running, Tyson was saying, ‘There have been a lot of boxers that have come and done this hill and stopped. If you stop, this sport isn’t for you’,” Williams recalled.

Williams didn’t stop.

It was the first of many challenges Williams faced during six weeks working out alongside Fury, fellow heavyweight star Joseph Parker and Parker’s trainer, Andy Lee. There were others.

Like when Lee put Williams through a challenge called “Jolene”, requiring him to do push-ups for the duration of the classic country song. It was enough to put Williams off Dolly Parton for life.

Sonny Bill Williams and Tyson Fury before sparring session in Britain.Credit: Instagram

It was a price Williams was prepared to pay to get into the best mental and physical shape possible for his boxing showdown with Barry Hall at Sydney’s Aware Super Theatre on March 23.

The anticipated “Turf War” bout, a pay-per-view offering from Stan Event, will mark Williams’ first fight since 2015.

“Tyson Fury, I can’t speak highly enough of him, he’s a real gentleman,” Williams told the Herald. “He’s a great guy and welcomed me into his little crew like I was family.

“For this journey to be successful, I had to put myself out there and go into those uncomfortable places. The growth and the confidence and the experience that I gained just from the five or six weeks I was away was well worth it.”

At times Williams got more than he bargained for. When he first arrived in England, close friend Parker informed Williams that his workouts with Fury would likely be limited to cardio and weights sessions.

“I said, ‘Bro, I’m keen to do some boxing because I want to make every second count’,” Williams said. “I didn’t think anything of it; I thought at least it’s nice that I’m rubbing shoulders with these guys.

“Then Jo rang me and said, ‘I’ve spoken to Tyson ... he said bring your boxing gear tonight’. He said, ‘If Sonny wants to box, let’s box’.

“We rocked up to the gym and we were just into it; body sparring, heavy bag work and there was no place to hide.

“He’s there looking at you, watching your form, correcting me. It blew my mind how fit he is for such a big man. He’s 132kg but he moves around the ring like a lightweight; has got fast hands.

“It showed me the levels; I got to see how the best in the world do it ... To go over and train with the best heavyweights in the world, I had to take that chance.”

Hall, who captained the Sydney Swans to the 2005 AFL premiership, has fought only once professionally: in a controversial draw with Paul Gallen. Asked if his boxing future included a long-mooted clash with Gallen, Williams said: “I’m fighting the guy that a lot of people felt beat Paul Gallen.

“For people to say he’s got to challenge himself and do this or that ... If that happens, it happens. At the end of the day I’m fighting Barry Hall and that’s a big challenge right now, that’s the fight.

“We’ll see what happens after this fight with ‘Big, Bad’ Barry.”

Turf War - Live & Exclusive on Stan Event, March 23. Order the event now at stan.com.au/event. Stan is owned by Nine, the owner of this masthead.

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