‘I’ll pull the pin’: Paul Gallen’s bombshell boxing threat over ‘piece of meat’ accusation
Paul Gallen has threatened to pull out of his last ever boxing fight, accusing Australia’s most high profile promoters of exploiting him.
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Paul Gallen has threatened to pull out of his upcoming boxing swansong against Justin Hodges and Ben Hannant, accusing the promoters of using him to find the sport’s next cross-code star.
Last month it was revealed Gallen would fight the two Queensland NRL greats on the same night in Brisbane in a rare novelty event boxing has seen rarely, if ever.
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Despite the heavy load, Gallen would go in as the heavy favourite to dispatch both Hodges and Hannant with relative ease.
But the exact logistics of how he would fight the duo on the one evening were unclear, with No Limit promoter George Rose even floating the idea of a WWE-style tag team fight.
But three weeks later and a fortnight out from fight night on September 15, details have been scarce and Gallen is none the wiser about who he will fight first and what exactly will be required of him.
“In general, (I’m) not feeling great about it,” he told news.com.au.
“My preparation is going OK, I’m definitely fit. My fight fitness and everything is fine, but I’m not happy about.
“It’s a big ask — fighting two guys on one night and I still don’t know who I’m fighting first and what’s going on, how the fight’s going to work. It’s a bit of a pain in the a*** to be honest.”
Gallen said all he knows is he will fight two four-round bouts against Hodges and Hannant.
“But I still don’t know how it’s going to work, the logistics of it,” he added.
Fighting several opponents in a sparring session is common practice in boxing training sessions and Gallen’s preference is to fight the two Queenslanders back-to-back with no break in between so he can keep his momentum going.
“I’ve asked to fight them back-to-back because to be honest, in sparring you do eight rounds and bring two or three different guys in,” he said.
“That’s pretty common in sparring, particularly young guys to come in and do two or three rounds against you.
“In my mind I’m prepared for an eight-round fight. It’d make sparring easier, fighting two guys four rounds each, it’d make it heaps easier, more simple. That’s would I’d like to do.
“But to totally stop and have a break and go again, that’s a big ask and I’m hearing through the grapevine that’s what it might be. That’s what I’m concerned about.”
Hannant and Hodges told news.com.au they also don’t know the specifics of the fight night, such as which of them will step in the ring with Gallen first.
Since retiring from rugby league, Gallen has proven himself as a tough-as-nails boxer, securing victories over Mark Hunt, Lucas Browne and Darcy Lussick.
He has also gone the distance with some of Australia’s best heavyweight fighters in gutsy defeats to Justis Huni and Kris Terzievski, which many thought would be Gallen’s last fight before retiring.
Gallen’s performances in the ring have cemented his status as one of Australia’s best multi-sport athletes, and he believes there may be an ulterior motive behind No Limit’s reluctance to give him more details about the Hodges-Hannant fights.
“I think they’re looking for the next crossover star and they’re trying to get me beat,” he said.
“That’s what I think. I think they forget what I’ve done for them in the past. They got started on the back of me and getting Fox and the big shows and some interest.
“Now they’ve gone on and done a fantastic job for boxing since then. But I think they’re looking for the next person to become the well known rugby league player who can box.
“If one of these two beat me, they then become the big dog. If I get beat, that opens the door for the next guy. Everyone knows I’m retiring so I think they want to find someone else.”
No Limit, run by George and Matt Rose, are in Paris to promote Australian Tai Tuivasa’s heavyweight UFC fight against Ciryl Gane on Sunday morning AEST.
Gallen has demanded to know more details about his double fight by “the end of the week”, otherwise he will pull out of the event
“They’re over in Paris at the moment, they’ve got enough time to discuss it,” he said.
“So they can finalise things and let me know what’s going on by the end of the week or I’ll just pull the pin.
“One thing I know about sport in general is that you are a piece of meat. When you retire, there’s not a lot of people pulling your arm. I understand that’s part of the business.
“(But) a fight like this hasn’t been done in 130 years that someone’s fought two guys on the one night. I think I’m more than entitled to know what’s going on. That’s the biggest frustration.”
If he does contest the fights at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena, Gallen is backing himself to beat both Hodges and Hannant, but “not easily”.
“They’re professional athletes, they’re just going to walk in and fall over,” he said.
“Some people are discrediting the fight but one thing about rugby league players, there’s no tougher athlete in the world. They are extremely tough.
“Their job is to run into multiple people who all weight over 100kg and are as strong as an ox. It’s an elite sport and that’s what these guys did their whole lives.
“It’s not going to be easy I’ve got no doubt that if I prepare well, which I’m doing, I’ll get the job done on the night.”
Originally published as ‘I’ll pull the pin’: Paul Gallen’s bombshell boxing threat over ‘piece of meat’ accusation
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