Lucas Browne reveals plot twist injury from Paul Gallen punch

Paul Gallen dropped Lucas Browne in Wednesday’s showdown, Now the former heavyweight champion has revealed the injury he sustained.

WOLLONGONG, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 21: Paul Gallen punches Lucas Browne during their bout at WIN Entertainment Centre on April 21, 2021 in Wollongong, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Former world heavyweight champion Lucas Browne has revealed the injuries he sustained following Wednesday evening’s loss to retired rugby league star Paul Gallen in Wollongong.

Gallen dropped Browne twice in the opening round of their bout, delivering a series of savage blows to his opponent’s head to force a TKO victory in under two minutes.

The veteran Aussie heavyweight entered the bout as the far more credentialed fighter but looked helpless against the Cronulla Sharks great’s onslaught.

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Speaking in an Instagram video on Thursday afternoon, Browne revealed he had lost hearing out of his left ear following the fight.

“Got a few little marks here and there, and I can’t hear out of my left ear. I’m assuming that was the shots across the top, but everything seems to be fine,” Browne said in the clip.

“What I do want to say is a massive thank you to the fans and the supporters, also all the sponsors that have helped me get here as well.

“Learning a lot, looking forward to what’s coming next.”

Despite the stunning footage of Gallen peppering his opponent, some boxing pundits questioned whether the bout had been fixed, claiming Browne’s fall was staged.

The 42-year-old responded angrily to suggestions he took a dive in a strongly-worded 5am Facebook post.

“It’s so f***ing sad to see so many bullshit comments, attacks, haters and people saying I took a dive,” Browne wrote. “I had a fight, I fought s***, couldn’t recover, have been out the ring for too long and got beat, end of story.

“I got in there, had a go, failed, and that’s it … full credit to Gallen. Thankyou to the fans, supporters and sponsors, and I do apologise.”

In a separate video on his Instagram page, Browne indicated he was wobbled by a shot to the head.

“I’m not marked up … I believe I got hit on the back of the head, behind the ear and it f***ed up my equilibrium and I basically couldn’t recover,” Browne said.

Vision of Browne chomping on a pre-fight snack before his underwhelming performance — which was branded as “pathetic” — earned a laugh from the Main Event broadcast team.

It sparked some social media sledging as viewers questioned how seriously the former world title challenger had taken the bout.

But early on Thursday morning Browne responded to the furore, insisting it wasn’t a sausage roll.

“So I’ve just realised wtf everyone was talking about when they were saying you fat c*** for eating a sausage roll while in the change room before the fight,” he wrote on Facebook. “It was the apricot oat bar lol … f***ing media and their bulls*** hahahaha.”

eating the sausage roll out the front of the servo/one hour later in the car pic.twitter.com/fPricpQOZt

— Alex McClintock (@axmcc) April 21, 2021

Browne’s preparation was questioned after he weighed in at 117kg for the fight — 15kg heavier than Gallen and about 4kg more than when he fought for a world title in 2016.

Aussie boxing legend Barry Michael also revealed there were rumours Browne hadn’t been training hard and was relying on his knockout power for an early stoppage victory.

It emerged as a key topic of discussion in the pre-fight predictions – and it was again the big topic of conversation after the fight.

On Wednesday, The Courier-Mail’s Peter Badel reported Gallen would next face Australian heavyweight champion Justis Huni in a mega $2 million bout at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.

The 39-year-old stoked the flames of a potential Huni bout by suggesting he’d be at a massive disadvantage.

“Guys like Huni have been doing it since they were kids. It’s like a six-year-old footy player playing first grade, that’s what it’s like,” Gallen said.

“I know I’m a good athlete and I can adapt to anything, but … it’s about providing for my family and having fights that are entertaining for the public, and that’s what I’m here to do.

“I’m happy to have another fight this year. I don’t know who, don’t know what, but we will wait and see.”