Paul Gallen open to fighting Manu Vatuvei following bout with John Hopoate
Paul Gallen wants to knock out John Hopoate in devastating fashion and set up a showdown with Warriors legend Manu “The Beast” Vatuvei.
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Paul Gallen has revealed the added motivation to knock out John Hopoate: a potential showdown against Kiwi league enforcer Manu Vatuvei.
The Cronulla Sharks backrower will be fighting his ninth professional bout on Friday, against Hopoate, but already has other NRL identities waiting in the wings.
Vatuvei, the former Kiwis winger, made a stunning professional boxing debut last December, knocking out opponent David Letele in 30 seconds with a vicious uppercut-right hook combination.
The man known as “The Beast” confirmed afterwards he was interested in fighting Gallen after a few more bouts.
“I see Manu Vatuvei wants to fight me now, if I want to have these fights against Manu or Sonny Bill Williams, I can’t go into those fights on the back of a loss,” Gallen said.
“I’ve seen it over the years, Bodene Thompson, Puna Rasaubale who was a Commonwealth Games athlete (Rasaubale represented Fiji as an amateur boxer at the 2006 Games), he should have got the better of me, he should have beaten me easily.
“Junior Paulo wanted me and I beat him too.
“They want to test themselves. I am a name, they want that name on their list.
“But I know who I am and what I want to do.
“Guys like Manu coming out saying they want to fight me doesn’t worry me one bit.”
Gallen (8-0, 4KO) fights Hopoate (12-5, 11KO) at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion.
Hopoate, 45, described Gallen, 37, as “short, fat, slow” this week.
“He can talk like that and be as confident as he wants, but there’s a bloke on the other side who is ready and who is going to win, that’s me,” Gallen said.
“I don’t care what he says.
“This is another fight people are intrigued by, Hop is a former Australian champion, known as a bad boy, hangs out in Kings Cross, there wouldn’t be too many people who would look twice at him.
“And here I am, a footy player, can box, and to be honest I can’t see him doing anything against me.
“If I take my sparring into the ring I’m confident I will win easily.”
Gallen has been sparring K1 champion Ben Edwards, Herman Ene Purcell and Tongan Commonwealth Games boxer Pouono Lopeti.
Hopoate has been sparring former champions Solomon Haumono and Bowie Tupou.
Gallen has been doing back-to-back league and boxing training sessions for the past month in a ferocious six-days-a-week regimen.
“First and foremost I’m a footy player, I’m contracted to Cronulla and that’s how I’ve always done it, footy training first and then sparring and fight training after that,” Gallen said.
“At my age, it’s certainly a big load to be doing.
“I’ve always prided myself on training hard, but I’m at the back end of it now and I’m glad because I have been feeling it, I just can’t wait for the fight to come.”
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