Paul Gallen floored in opening round, climbs off canvas to win pro debut in bizarre fight

PAUL Gallen was knocked flat on his back in the first round by his younger, heavier opponent and things only got weirder from there.

PAUL Gallen produced one of the strangest wins seen in a boxing ring at the Hordern Pavilion, climbing off the canvas to stop Herman Ene-Purcell via a TKO in two frantic rounds.

Early in the first round a left hook, postmarked Auckland, eventually arrived and landed on Gallen’s chin, dropping the NSW captain.

News_Image_File: Paul Gallen knocked down in the first round by Herman Purcell.

“I had no idea, I don’t know where it came from” Gallen said after. “Next thing I was on my arse.”

Gallen recovered, and dominated his opponent from then on.

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News_Image_File: Paul Gallen (in blue trunks) fights Herman Purcell (in black) in a heavyweight bout.

Roared on by the Hordern Pavilion crowd, Gallen took the fight up to his younger and heavier opponent in the second round.

The Cronulla skipper threw some decent left jabs and also showed he could hurt with some mean right hand shots.

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With Purcell bizarrely choosing to drop his hands and let Gallen tee off on him in the second round, eventually taking one too many and referee Gary Dean stopped it.

Who knows why? Or whether we ever want to see it again?

News_Image_File: Paul Gallen (in blue trunks) fights Herman Purcell (in black) in a heavyweight bout.

The action didn't end there, as the two fighters exchanged several more blows before Dean and the fighters' teams finally separated the two men.

Gallen didn’t rule out having another bout after the coming rugby league season.

“Not soon, (I’ll) put a few kilos back on, maybe at the end of the year,” Gallen said.

News_Image_File: Paul Gallen (in blue trunks) fights Herman Purcell (in black) in a heavyweight bout.

Commonwealth Games 2006 heavyweight gold medallist Brad Pitt (15-0, 12 KOs) extended his unbeaten professional run by producing a peach of a left hand to knock out Emosi Solitua (4-1, 3 KOs) in the first round of their cruiserweight contest.

News_Image_File: Paul Gallen (in blue trunks) fights Herman Purcell (in black) in a heavyweight bout. Gallen knocks Purcell out in the 2nd round via TKO but Purcell continues to try to fight sparking the corner men from both camps to jump in the ring.

New Zealand's Robert Berridge (23-1-1, 19 KOs) retained the Pan Asian Boxing Association light heavyweight with a 10th-round stoppage of Australian Kerry Foley (14-2-1, 12 KOs) in a thrilling rematch.

Foley floored Berridge in the sixth, was floored himself in the seventh and the Australian was stopped by a body shot in the 10th round.

The two men drew in 2011, when Berridge was convinced he had done enough to win.

News_Image_File: Kerry Foley is punched in his fight against Robert Berridge during the Light Heavyweight bout between Kerry Foley of Australia and Robert Berridge of New Zealand.