Paul Gallen’s brain damage admission ahead of fights with Ben Hannant and Justin Hodges

As Paul Gallen prepares to fight two men in one night, the NRL star turned boxer has revealed why he’s ending his boxing career.

Paul Gallen prepares for his fights with Justin Hodges and Ben Hannant. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Paul Gallen can see the end – and he can’t wait.

After 21 years putting his body through the punishment of the NRL and top-level boxing, Gallen admits for the first time he is beginning to worry about his mind, and the potential risk of suffering brain damage.

On Thursday, Gallen will take a huge risk by fighting two men on the same night when he takes on former Queensland rivals Justin Hodges and Ben Hannant at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena.

Paul Gallen prepares for his fights with Justin Hodges and Ben Hannant. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

The Sharks legend is expected to bash both, despite the complexity of a one-hour break between bouts. If he prevails, Gallen will embark on one more fight in December, possibly against Eels hulk Junior Paulo, before drawing the curtain on one of the most remarkable careers in Australian sport.

But amid the successes, his 2016 premiership ring at Cronulla, a slew of NSW Origin and Australian jumpers, 348 NRL games – and his brave transition to the world of boxing – Gallen is suddenly a man confronting his mortality.

Call it old age – Gallen turned 41 last month – but the Sharks ironman does not feel as invincible as he used to be.

In an age where the sporting and medical worlds are more aware of brain trauma following the discovery of CTE, Gallen wants to hang up the gloves before he suffers long-lasting damage.

Ben Hannant, Paul Gallen and Justin Hodges promote their fight night. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

“I have to get out of this sport before I suffer major brain damage,” Gallen says.

“I have no doubt I have some damage, but hopefully I don’t cop too much.

“It’s funny, I’ve never ever thought about brain damage until the past six months. I have never worried about it. I have never considered it. But suddenly it has hit me.

“I look at my kids and I want to be around for a long time to be a good dad to them.

“We don’t know if you have CTE until you are dead, but I know a lot of people in boxing in their 40s and 50s – they are a bit slower mentally and physically and I can’t be that person with the media roles I have (commentating for Channel 9).

“There are always athletes who fall victim to Alzheimers and CTE, but people who have never played contact sport in their life can also have the same problems.

“The reality is what I have done over 20 years, copping the hits I have in football and boxing, could make me more susceptible to brain damage or CTE.

“It’s time to stop.”

If Hodges and Hannant are reading this, suddenly sniffing an upset, Gallen says think again. The competitor in him refuses to relent. He has been punishing himself sprinting up the unforgiving sandy hills at Wanda.

Paul Gallen says he has brain damage. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

The bookmakers believe Gallen will be too fit and too crafty to lose to Hannant or Hodges, but the football star-turned-pugilist admits he has had enough of some aspects of the fight game.

“I’m over sparring,” he says.

“I’m really ready for the end to be honest. I will be relieved when it’s all over in a few months.

“I really enjoy the fitness work, and the weights, but I don’t want to spar anymore. I don’t want the damage.

“I have been told any impact hard enough to break an egg can cause damage to your brain.

“Think about how many times you get punched in the head in a sparring session, a boxing ring or the heavy hits you cop on a football field.

“I have never had a concern about brain damage until now. I guess it’s a sign of getting old, maturity and thinking you aren’t invincible.

“My brain function is something I need to be careful of. I talk for a living in the media and on the radio. What happens in five years time if I start stuttering and not remembering things?

“That’s something I have to be a bit careful of.

“Generally, as you get older in boxing, you get found out by a younger bloke like Justis Huni, but thankfully Ben Hannant and Justin Hodges are just as old as me.

“It would be embarrassing to lose to two blokes who can’t fight, so I’ll make sure I’m fit and ready, but I won’t miss the sparring.”

Paul Gallen and Justin Hodges promote their fight. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Ironically, the fight game has made Gallen a figure of admiration.

As a league player, he was arguably the most reviled man in the NRL, a reputation not helped by Cronulla’s explosive doping scandal of 2011 when Gallen was accused of being a drug cheat.

But his braveheart performances against Australian heavyweight champions Justis Huni and Kris Terzievski in the past 15 months have earned Gallen the respect of even his most brutal critics.

Typically, Gallen is combative until the end.

“To be honest, I don’t care about legacy,” Gallen says.

“I do appreciate people giving me respect, but I couldn’t care less what people remember me for.

“People talk about legacy in sport and I think that word is so overrated and irrelevant.

“Think about how many great Australian athletes or boxers there have been and what are most of them doing now?

“Some might have brain damage.

“Legacy doesn’t pay the bills. I couldn’t care less about legacy. I said from day one as a boxer I am there to make money and a prize-fighter wanting to set my family up to give them the life I never had and that’s always been my goal.

“I don’t know exactly how much I have made out of boxing, but it would be more than I made out of rugby league. That would be safe to say.

“I’ve pushed myself to the absolute limit in my sporting career, so I am looking forward to hanging up the gloves and getting on with my life.”