Paul Gallen angered that Mark Hunt is being paid more for fight as SBW, Rob Whittaker looms as possible opponents

Paul Gallen hits out at the distribution of the purse for his fight with Mark Hunt as another UFC legend looms as a possible opponent if he wins on Wednesday night.

Paul Gallen is fuming that Mark Hunt will earn more than him for their heavyweight fight next Wednesday, and should he win, will not accept any less than 50-50 against his next rival, which could be Sonny Bill Williams or UFC superstar Rob Whittaker.

Former NRL hardman Gallen could have taken a much easier option than knockout king Hunt for the fight on the Tim Tszyu vs Bowyn Morgan undercard at Bankwest Stadium, yet has taken the ultimate risk in his 10-fight boxing career.

But Hunt, who hasn’t fought in a boxing ring for 20 years, having embarked on a mixed martial arts career, is understood to be getting more cash for this showdown. It’s believed Hunt will pocket close to $500,000, while Gallen will earn around $400,000.

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Paul Gallen insists he is taking on all the risk in fighting Mark Hunt.

“Mark’s getting paid a s***load more than me, which does annoy me,” Gallen told News Corp.

“I could have had two or three other opponents and got similar money, but I’ve taken on the big dog. What other options has he got?

“I’ve got other options, he doesn’t. No one else wants to fight him, there are no other boys who want to jump in the ring with him.

“I should be getting the lion’s share, but I’m pretty sure I’m not.

“So if I win this fight, I’ll be naming my price for the next ones going forward and I’ll be getting that.

“Nobody wants to fight Mark, here I am stepping out against him, and as I said at the start this fight says more about me than him.

“I’m taking the risk. He’s got more pressure on him because of who he is and what he’s done, but I’m taking the bigger risk, so that part has annoyed me that he’s getting the lion’s share of the coin, but I’m just ready to go, I just really want to win.

Gallen and Hunt step into the ring at Bankwest Stadium on Wednesday night.

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“The money is great. Would I give the money back for the win? I can’t say I would, I wouldn’t be fighting unless I was getting paid, but the money is just a by-product of the hard work I’ve done to get here, and winning means more to me.”

And should he win, former UFC middleweight champion Whittaker – who has a clause in his contract allowing him to box - is a contender for Gallen’s next fight, along with Williams who is understood to have resumed boxing training this week.

Reports that Gallen could fight two NRL players on one night next year were rejected.

“Whittaker, I’m not worried about - if I beat Mark Hunt, I’ll start talking about things like that, without a doubt,” Gallen said.

“If I don’t beat Mark Hunt, I’m back to fighting Josh Papalii and Nelson (Asofa-Solomona), and that’s not what I want as far as what I want to do in the sport and the money I want to earn.

“The money I want to earn is in guys like Whittaker, not Josh Papalii.

“I’ve done the footy player thing, I’ve taken on some of the boxers, this is a big scalp, and I understand that and I’ve trained accordingly.”

Rob Whittaker has a boxing clause in his contract.

SBW has reportedly returned to boxing training.

Gallen’s trainers and those who have sparred with him are convinced he could be a serious force in boxing’s stacked heavyweight division, but the league legend is cautious not to be seen as disrespecting the sweet science.

“People don’t think I’m humble in the media but I am, it hasn’t been my sport of choice, rugby league was my sport of choice and I achieved everything I could there,” Gallen said.

Whatever happens beyond the Hunt bout, it’s unlikely Gallen will fight beyond 2021.

“I have been lucky enough to not be hurt playing rugby league, I’ve got some joint issues but that’s it, I want to live a good life as well, I don’t want to struggle when I’m 45, 50 years of age,” Gallen said.

“And I’m lucky I that I don’t need the money. I’ve done well in my life, in rugby league and what I’ve done with boxing, so there’s a number of things to lay out, it’s not just the next flight and worrying about who it is or how much money is out there.

“I’m thinking about the future.

“I have been very selfish in my sporting career. My wife and my kids know that and they’ve been supportive of it, but there’s got to be a time where they come first, that’s not far away.”