Hall v Gallen: Barry Hall says pressure is on Paul Gallen
Barry Hall has revealed how he plans to beat his shorter but more experienced opponent in their much-anticipated bout.
AFL great Barry Hall will try to use his 14cm height advantage and telescopic reach to dominate rugby league strongman Paul Gallen from a distance in their Code War fight in Melbourne on Friday night.
The 194cm, 105kg Hall has already won the first round, with Gallen agreeing to fight him over six two-minute rounds, rather than three-minute rounds, giving the 42-year-old AFL Premiership winning skipper a greater chance to hit, hold and run against the rampaging Cronulla strongman.
Hall’s fight plan, fashioned at the remote NSW North Coast gym of trainer Angelo Hyder, is to keep his much shorter but more experienced opponent at the end of a long left jab, smash him with powerful right crosses when he sees an opening and hold on for dear life every time the bookies’ favourite gets close.
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Hall, who won a Premiership with the Swans in 2005, is having his first real fight since he was a 51kg Victorian junior champion as an amateur 26 years ago. Gallen, who led Cronulla to the 2016 NRL title, is rated the No. 5 contender for the Australian heavyweight title and has built a fearsome reputation for ferocious infighting.
In his last fight in February, Gallen knocked out John Hopoate, the former rugby league flyer who briefly held the Australian heavyweight title.
Gallen’s team, led by coach Graham Shaw and veteran cutman Brian Wilmot, expect Hall to try to keep the fight ``long’’, using the powerful fast jab to frustrate Gallen and keep him at long rang to steal rounds while the 120 seconds for each round tick down.
Over the last seven-weeks Hyder and his cornerman Tony Nobbs have been coaching Hall to maximise the explosive foot speed that carried him through 289 AFL Games for the Saints, Swans and Bulldogs.
``Barry is a tremendous athlete and naturally much faster than Gallen, who is a grinding, bulldozing kind of sportsman,’’ Hyder said.
``Gallen will be shocked by Barry’s athleticism and size. Barry has to use that explosive speed for 12 minutes, treat the fight like a sprint and he can shock the sport.
``Even though Gallen has had nine pro fights, Barry is the superior natural boxer and he has shown those skills in sparring against experienced pro fighters, Daniel Russell, Ben Kelleher and Nick Midgley.
``Before he started training for this fight seven weeks ago Barry hadn’t sparred anyone for years but he was in top form right from his first session back. We are very confident he can spring an upset.’’
Hall says he is not feeling the pressure of his first big sporting test since his last game for the Bulldogs eight years ago.
``The pressure is all on Gallen,’’ he said. ``He’s got the experience. Everyone thinks he’s going to win but what happens if he doesn’t? I’ve got nothing to lose.’’
Promoter Danny Green, the former world champ, says the longer the fight goes, the more it suits the underdog.
``Barry is a terrific athlete and he will be looking to keep Gallen at a distance and frustrate him,’’ Green said, ``they both have the power to win by knockout and I think someone will be stopped.
``Both are fierce competitors who hate to lose.
``Gal is tried and tested as a fighter, he’s a proven warrior. Barry is a very good boxer but he hasn’t really been tested in the boxing ring. This is his pro debut.’’
Gallen, who initially lashed out at Hall for insisting on two-minute rounds, said 12 minutes of fighting was still long enough to catch up with the underdog.
``I’ll get in there, do the job and get the win,’’ Gallen said.
The Gallen-Hall card will also likely see Commonwealth Games gold medallist Andrew Moloney crowned as Australia’s only current world boxing champion. He faces Brooklyn-based Elton Dharry of Guyana for the WBA Interim world super-flyweight title.
Meanwhile, Gallen has been challenged by Australia’s former world heavyweight champ Lucas Browne, who says he will fight him for free and knock him out.
Browne says he is incensed that the two fighters are being paid ``ten times’’ his purse for winning the WBA title against Ruslan Chagaev in Grozny, Russia in 2016 and that he could beat them both on the same night.
Originally published as Hall v Gallen: Barry Hall says pressure is on Paul Gallen
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