The All Black midfielder Sonny Bill Williams will fight Auckland's Richard Tutaki for the New Zealand heavyweight title when he next enters the ring in Hamilton in February.
The former league star announced the fight this afternoon at the city's Claudelands Arena, the venue for the February the 8th bout.
The fight will take place just two and a half weeks before his new Super Rugby team the Chiefs open their 2011 season.
The 26-year-old Williams is allowed a certain number of fights under his New Zealand Rugby Union contract.
Tutaki, the current national heavyweight champion, is a 10-year professional boasting a 19 win-21 loss record, with one draw.
The 33-year-old has won nine fights by knockout and lost 14 times by the same method.
He has lost four of his last five fights.
Standing at 1.92 metres, Tutaki is 1centimetre taller than Williams while his rating on the respected Boxing Record Archive rankings is 288, five places higher than the All Black.
