Paul Gallen vs Justis Huni boxing: Gallen brave but outclassed in brutal title fight
Former NRL star Paul Gallen had his ribs broken early but took the Australian champion to the 10th round, showing courage while copping a barrage of punishment | WATCH
- Huni dominates brave rival
- Referee stops the fight
- Gallen: broke my ribs early
- Round by round
- Gallen-Huni tale of the tape
- Tonight’s fight card
Paul Gallen vs Justis Huni. Australian heavyweight champion Huni has won their fight in a 10th-round TKO at Sydney’s ICC Exhibition Centre, securing his title belt against the former NRL champion.
Brent Read10.55pm:Huni too big, too strong for Gallen
Justis Huni will head to the Tokyo Olympics with the biggest scalp of his career under his belt. No-one has been able to stop Paul Gallen over the course of his sporting career, which morphed into boxing when his time in rugby league came to an end.
There was no mountain Gallen couldn’t climb. No bridge too far. Not until Wednesday night at least. This was another clinic from a boxer many believe will one day conquer the world, starting potentially with a gold medal and ending in the eyes of many with the heavyweight title.
Huni was too fast and too strong for Gallen. No shame in that. Huni is a superstar on the rise and Gallen has given him a new audience, raising his profile to fresh levels after becoming the latest victim for the 22-year-old during a 10th-round TKO.
Gallen was too tough for his own good at times. The fight could have been stopped at the end of the sixth round after Gallen was on the receiving end of a battering. Remarkably, he came out for the seventh and held his own.
He then planted his chin back on Huni’s chest at the start of the eighth round and traded punches with his younger foe. For his trouble, he was hammered again in round nine.
He may not be in Huni’s class as a boxer, but the one thing you can never question with Gallen is his heart and guts. To his eternal credit, he was still standing heading into the 10th round.
Eventually, the damage told. Gallen was on shaky legs when he tackled Huni to the ground as the pair came together. When they regained their feet, Huni landed a picture-perfect right hand that sent Gallen to the canvas. Gallen got back to his feet but referee John Cauchi stepped in and waved the fight over.
“It was good,” Huni said.
“Obviously big shout out to Gal, he is an awesome competitor – very tough, very strong. He is very tough. He is definitely built differently.”
Gallen revealed he had broken his rib early in the fight. He also admitted Huni’s punching power – the one big question mark over his career thus far – had caught him by surprise, and didn’t rule out taking up the option of a rematch.
“I really wanted to win that tonight,” Gallen said.
“By the eighth or seventh round, I just wanted to finish it. I think he broke my rib in the second round. He was too fast and probably punched a little harder than I thought he would as well.
“He is too good. I wish him the best. All the chat before it was chat. I genuinely wish Justis the best at the Olympics – I hope he can win a gold medal for Australia.
“We might do it again in a couple of months. That was a good challenge for me. One thing I will say to Justis is you are a terrific fighter.”
Gallen came into the ring as a rank outsider despite an unbeaten record that included wins over Lucas Browne and Mark Hunt.
Huni was his biggest test to date. The gold medal hopeful only made his professional debut late last year but had string together a series of impressive victories.
Gallen had proclaimed in the lead-up to the fight that he had found a chink in Huni’s armour. He talked about putting pressure on Huni and bending him to his will.
He branded Huni a puppet. He tried to close the space to Huni from the opening bell and while he had modicums of success. Huni was just too classy.
Gallen kept wearing shots as Huni’s speed meant he beat the former rugby league star to the punch time and time again.
The theme began in the opening round and continued through the rounds that followed. continued through the early rounds round three as Gallen attempted to apply the pressure but ended up eating lather, including a couple of right hands that had him reeling around the ring.
Gallen regained his legs between rounds but Huni kept tagging him at will, his speed and reach too much for Gallen. There were moments of joy for Gallen. He caught Huni with the occasional shot, but they were few and far between.
Even when he had some joy, he was given twice as much for his trouble.
“After I accomplish all my amateur dreams – which is to go and represent Australia at the Olympics, I will come back and sit down with the team to change my style to a professional style,” Huni said.
In the main undercard, middleweight Issac Hardman extended his unbeaten record to 11 fights by stopping Emmanuel Carlos in the fourth round of a war on the main undercard to the Australian heavyweight title fight between Paul Gallen and Justis Huni.
The pair traded bombs throughout the fight, a cut quickly opening over Carlos’ right eye from what appeared to be a headbutt in the second round.
The ringside doctor inspected the cut and allowed the fight to resume. When it did, Hardman landed the harder punches and eventually dropped Carlos in the fourth round with a volley of blows.
He got back to his feet but was rocked again and the referee stopped the fight. The fast-talking Hardman, known as ‘The Headsplitter’, made short work of his opponent and now has his sights set on conquering bigger names.
“He was fast,” Hardman said.
“We knew he had God given reflexes. I knew I would catch up to him. When I hit these guys, they don’t keep coming. I take the will from them.”
Hardman had been called out earlier in the night by New Zealand middleweight Andrei Mikhailovich but made it clear he had his eye on bigger names.
“He is a boy,” Hardman said.
“He is 15-0 and I think he is 300 in the world. Numbers don’t lie, baby. Let me go bash Felix Cash or Leon Williams – let me go and iron out one of those Poms.”
Mikhailovich had earlier scored a huge win over Alex Hana, dropping his compatriot with a pair of left hooks in the second round before the referee stepped in to bring the carnage to an end.
The pair had spent the lead-in trading barbs but when it came time to trade blows, it was Mikhailovich who finished the victor. He sent Hanan to the caves for the first time with a savage left hook. He then backed it up with a left-right combination as Hanan went down on one knee for a second time. When he regained his feet, Mikhailovich rained blows and left the referee with no choice but to step in.
Mikhailovich called out Issac Hardman immediately following the fight.
Sam Goodman produced an impressive performance on the undercard as he captured the ANBF Australasian featherweight title with a sixth-round stoppage of Nort Beauchamp.
The referee intervened as Goodman laid into his opponent, having dominated the fight throughout.
Tom Crystal10.32pm:Gallen: I knew I was in trouble early
The 39-year-old says he knew by the sixth round he wasn’t going to win but just wanted to finish the 10-round bout.
“He knocked me down fair and square but I thought maybe the referee stopped it early ... but I was never going to win the fight. I would have liked to finish it.
“I think he broke my rib in the second round and I just couldn’t get off. Every time I moved it was clicking.
“He was just too fast and probably punched a little bit harder than I thought he was going to. The body shots ... it hurt.”
“He’s too good. I wish him the best.”
Tom Crystal10.28pm:Huni pays tribute to his rival
The champion acknowledges Paul Gallen as “an awesome competitor, very tough, very strong. He put up an awesome challenge. He’s very tough. You’re a legend mate, good on you.”
Huni says the trash talk from Gallen did not worry him.
“We just take care of business,” he said. Asked about the looming Olympic Games he says: “I hope to make you all proud and bring home a gold medal.”
Tom Crystal10.26pm:Gallen succumbs to body-shot barrage
Justis Huni started the opening round with a solid blow to the body of Paul Gallen, and that set the tone of the fight.
At times during the first nine rounds it looked like a case of when the 22-year-old would land the big shot and finish off his brave opponent.
Gallen landed punches of his own, but they were well outnumbered by the stinging replies produced by a younger, faster pugilist.
The biggest risk to Huni appeared to be the sports tape that came loose a couple of times from his gloves — forcing a couple of stoppages and a warning from the referee that he would deduct a point if it happened for a third time.
That posed the only threat to Huni not gaining maximum points in each of the first nine rounds as he put on a clinic.
The biggest question was how Gallen managed to stay on his feet against Huni for so long.
Tom Crystal10.22pm:Huni wins the fight!
Paul Gallen has fought bravely against his well-credentialed rival but the contest has been stopped in the 10th and final round. The referee stepped in to end the punishment being dished out to Gallen with a TKO decision, after Justis Huni won every round of the contest.
Tom Crystal10.18pm:Round 9
Another round to Huni, who barely misses with a couple of big right hands that had they landed, would surely have ended Gallen’s night.
Tom Crystal10.15pm:Round 8
Huni is landing plenty of punches but Gallen lands the occasional counter. Seven rounds in, the champion has been rarely troubled and has won them all. The biggest risk to Huni seems to be some loose tape on one of his gloves that is causing the referee plenty of angst.
Tom Crystal10.12pm:Round 7
He won’t win, but Gallen is hanging in, trying to throw punches but clearly tiring. Huni’s only risk from such a dominant position is being careless.
Tom Crystal10.09pm:Round 6
Huni is starting to dance as Gallen tries to force him into the corner. The body shots are taking the wind out of Gallen, who winces in pain. Huni is closing in on victory as his opponent struggles to keep the hands up. Somehow, Gallen makes the bell to end the sixth.
Tom Crystal10.06pm:Round 5
Gallen lands a good right hand, but Huni is getting the better of the contest. The challenger also manages a solid left hook. The fight stops briefly due to a bit of loose tape on Huni’s glove. Gallen is wearing a lot of punches but he is still trying to come forward against his bigger foe. Huni’s corner is imploring him to use his right hook.
Tom Crystal10.03pm:Round 4
The referee has checked in on Gallen after that round to make sure he is OK to continue. Gallen manages to hang on in the fourth round, all the while absorbing heavy body shots and fast punches from Huni.
Tom Crystal10pm:Round 3
Big right hand from Huni has Gallen reeling; and the champion looks like he’s on the verge of victory here. Gallen is forced into a clinch to stay in the third round. Saved by the bell.
Tom Crystal9.57pm:Round 2
Another convincing round from Huni, who is tagging the challenger seemingly at will. He doesn’t go in for the knockout straight away, preferring to pick Gallen off from distance.
Tom Crystal9.52pm:Round 1
A fast start by Huni, who stings Gallen with some sharp body shots. Gallen looks like he has a tall order, literally, to get inside against his opponent.
Tom Crystal9.40pm:The champion makes his way out
Justis Huni heads confidently to the ring to the strains of Lenny Kravitz’s Are You Gonna Go My Way. We are about to find out ...
Tom Crystal9.35pm:Gallen enters the ring
The challenger is met by a mixture of cheers and boos from the crowd as he makes his way to the ring with Puff Duddy’s Come With Me, a former favourite at big NRL games, blasting through the speakers.
Tom Crystal9.30pm:Gallen-Huni next up
The fight that we all waiting for, Paul Gallen v Justis Huni, is minutes away after some entertaining and, a times, brutal undercard bouts.
Brent Read9.25pm:‘Let’s go iron out some Poms’
Middleweight Issac Hardman extended his unbeaten record to 11 fights by stopping Emmanuel Carlos in the fourth round of a war on the main undercard to the Australian heavyweight title fight between Paul Gallen and Justis Huni.
The pair traded bombs throughout the fight, a cut quickly opening over Carlos’ right eye from what appeared to be a headbutt in the second round.
The ringside doctor inspected the cut and allowed the fight to resume. When it did, Hardman landed the harder punches and eventually dropped Carlos in the fourth round with a volley of blows.
He got back to his feet but was rocked again and the referee stopped the fight. The fast-talking Hardman, known as ‘The Headsplitter’, made short work of his opponent and now has his sights set on conquering bigger names.
“He was fast,” Hardman said.
“We knew he had God given reflexes. I knew I would catch up to him. When I hit these guys, they don’t keep coming. I take the will from them.”
Hardman had been called out earlier in the night by New Zealand middleweight Andrei Mikhailovich but made it clear he had his eye on bigger names.
“He is a boy,” Hardman said.
“He is 15-0 and I think he is 300 in the world. Numbers don’t lie, baby. Let me go bash Felix Cash or Leon Williams – let me go and iron out one of those Poms.”
Tom Crystal9.20pm:Hardman packs a harder punch
In the main undercard to the Gallen-Huni fight, Issac Hardman has destroyed Emmanuel Carlos in their IBF Australasian, WBO Oriental, and Australian middleweight title fight.
Hardman stopped Carlos with 52 seconds left in the fourth round of their 10-round duel.
The hard right hand of Hardman was simply too punishing for Carlos, who fought bravely but was out on his feet by the end of the contest.
The TKO victory takes Hardman’s record to 11-0, with nine by KO.
Tom Crystal8.50pm:Andrei the giant-hitter
Andrei Mikhailovich and Alex Hanan go hell for leather in their super welterweight showdown, trading punches in a two-round war.
Beautiful shot #GallenHunipic.twitter.com/rZvH7w8EJa
— 231 Lb Crute🇦🇺 (@Bendaman2001) June 16, 2021
Mikhailovich gets the TKO two minutes and 29 seconds into the second round of their scheduled eight-round contest.
The pre-fight hostilities extended to a feisty touching of gloves in the ring, when Hanan punched his opponent in the chest, and it was heavy glove contact from there.
Mikhailovich was way too sharp for Hanan, landing some huge punches against his reeling rival. The left hook was extremely effective and buckled his rival.
It takes Mikhailovich’s record to 16 wins from 16 fights, with nine KOs.
Joseph Lam8.30pm:Kiwis set to clash in bitter rivalry
The next fighters to don the leather in the lead-up to the Paul Gallen and Justis Huni fight are Alex Hanan and Andrei Mikhailovich, a couple of middleweight fighters who stole the show at the pre-fight weigh-in.
Mikhailovich, a Russian who now lives in New Zealand, exchanged heated words with Hanan in the lead-up to the fight, and there is clearly no goodwill between them.
The crowd has gone from about 30 per cent full just over an hour ago to a now roaring 70 per cent.
No fight has gone the distance yet, but there’s plenty to be excited about.
Tom Crystal8.20pm:Goodman too good
Sam Goodman keeps his unbeaten record intact and claims his ninth professional win with a comprehensive win over Nort Beauchamp in their featherweight bout.
Goodman dishes out plenty of punishment to his opponent, and a short right to the head of Beauchamp is enough for the referee one minute and 17 seconds into the sixth round. He calls and end to the punishment, handing Goodman a TKO and the Australian National Boxing Federation featherweight title.
Brent Read8.10pm:Gallen ‘will regret’ taunting Huni
Promoter Dean Lonergan has warned that Paul Gallen is facing the end of his boxing career after lighting a fire inside Australian heavyweight champion Justis Huni in the lead-up to their fight at the International Convention Centre on Wednesday night.
Gallen has spent the lead-up to the fight throwing grenades at Huni and his camp, claiming the Olympic-bound heavyweight is a puppet and that his family is living vicariously through his deeds.
The comments have left Huni livid and prompted Lonergan to suggest he will take his anger out on Gallen in a brutal fashion.
The fighters are due to enter the ring no later than 9.30pm and already a host of celebrities have taken seats at ringside including Collingwood star Jordan De Goey, former Cronulla players Chris Heighington and Andrew Ettingshausen, former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh and ex-world champion Jeff Fenech.
Lonergan worked on the David Tua-Shane Cameron flight in New Zealand 12 years ago and has had a sense of deja vu as events have unfolded this week.
“Paul Gallen has carried on in a way I have seen before,” Lonergan said. “I worked very, very closely with the David Tua v Shane Cameron fight in New Zealand. It was called the Fight of the Century.
“It was a massive fight. Tua was a former world champion ad could really fight. He was one mean, mean son of a bitch.
“It took a lot to get David Tua fired up. Over the course of the campaign, Shane Cameron and his camp made a serious mistake in that they fired David Tua up.
“They ran insults at him on a regular basis, they talked about his weight and fitness. By the time it got to the end of that lead-up, there was an interview on TV where David was turning and cricking his neck in a menacing fashion and said, ‘Shane, I am really going to hurt you’.
“What happened at the back end of that fight, over two rounds it was the biggest destruction of a fighter I have ever seen.
“Shane Cameron didn’t fight too much after that. David Tua in the second round, he had Cameron on the ropes and he was hitting him in a way where he couldn’t go down. He hit him with 20 unanswered shots before Cameron was slumped in the corner.
“The point of that story is do not turn around and take these guys who are quite quiet, and cannot the hell out of them. Paul Gallen, with the way he has carried on, has signed his boxing death warrant.
“He is going to really regret when he gets in that ring the things he has said. For all his bravado – and I know he is a brave man – he is going to walk to that ring knowing he is going to get the hiding of his life and there is nothing he can do about it.
“I can guarantee you this, he will unload big time on Paul Gallen and he is going to regret everything he said.”
Tom Crystal7.55pm:Featherweight feud on the cards
Nort Beauchamp (18-4) is taking on Sam Goodman (8-0) in an eight-round featherweight fight.
Goodman, 22, is 56.9kg, 169cm tall and has a reach of 169cm. Beauchamp, 35, weighs in at 56.9kg. He’s 166cm tall and has a reach of 165cm.
Tom Crystal7.45pm:Victor vanquished after brutal battle
Victor Oganov is brave but he’s outclassed by his much younger opponent, Jason Whateley. Whateley lands punches at will against the 44-year-old from the outset of the contest.
Oganov is brave but he’s little more than a slow-moving target for the 30-year-old Whateley, who takes his record to nine wins from nine fights when Oganov’s corner throws in the towel, just over two minutes into the fourth round.
It’s a TKO to start the evening’s proceedings.
Tom Crystal7.15pm:First bout of the evening set to go
The first fight is a six-round cruiserweight contest between Jason Whateley (8-0) and Victor Oganov (32-0-8). Whateley is a 30-year-old, weighing in at a tick over 90kg. He’s 195cm tall with a 196cm reach.
Oganov is a sprightly 44, weighing in at 89.65kg, 175cm tall, and with a reach of 175cm.
Whateley heads to the ring with Steve Earle’s Copperhead Road blasting; Oganov sports a white safety helmet and an orange high-vis vest with Jimmy Barnes’ Working Class Man playing.
The battle of the 80s rock anthems is a big hit with the fans.
Joseph Lam7pm:Fight fans head to Sydney venue
The doors have fave finally opened and punters have slowly begun to set foot into a red and blue-lit theatre, ahead of the much anticipated Paul Gallen and Justis Huni fight.
It was relatively quiet outside Aware Super Theatre, at Sydney’s Darling Harbour, and inside isn’t much better with the exception of a handful of former NRL players mingling around the ring, “termination day” signs looming above them.
Tom Crystal6.30pm:Gallen will end up ‘face down on the canvas’
Justis Huni isn’t the talkative type, but he did respond to Paul Gallen’s pre-fight trash talk with a vow to knock out the 39-year-old.
Gallen finished his weigh-in on Tuesday and declared that he had a mental edge over his younger opponent.
“I’m in his head and I’ll be in his face tomorrow night,” Gallen said. “He has shown (by not turning up to a pre-arranged promotional event) that he can’t handle the pressure. He has been thinking about me, I’ve been the last thing he’s been thinking about before he goes to sleep at night.”
Huni responded: “I’ve been thinking about him laying face down on the canvas. They’re just words, and they won’t change the outcome. He’s never fought anyone like me.”
“If I land some big shots on him ... I will definitely be putting the aggression on, picking up the intensity and going for the finish.”
Gallen countered: “He hasn’t dropped one single opponent. He’s clearly not a puncher. I don’t see that (lying face down on the canvas) happening.”
Tom Crystal6pm:Huni raw, but with boxing pedigree
Queenslander Justis Huni has fought just four times professionally, but he has plenty of ring experience to call upon against an opponent who is threatening to try and bustle his way to victory.
Huni won a gold medal at the Youth World Boxing Championships, held in Russia, in 2019. He was Australia’s sole gold medallist at the event, which featured 10 weight divisions.
Huni followed that up with a bronze medal at the 2019 World Boxing Championships, also in Russia.
The 22-year-old will look to become Australia’s first Olympic boxing gold medallist when he contests the super-heavyweight division in Tokyo in July.
He’s part of Australia’s six-member team being sent to Japan for the Games.
Tom Crystal5.30pm:Former league star a rank outsider
The bookies don’t give Paul Gallen much hope of coming out on top in this fight against a younger, taller opponent. Gallen is rated a $4.25 shot, against $1.22 for Justis Huni. The most expected outcome, according to the bagmen, is a Huni win by knockout or TKO, in round five or six.
The calm before the storm.#GallenHunipic.twitter.com/La7IAxKkND
— cody kaye (@Cody_KayeFOX) June 16, 2021
Tom Crystal5pm:Tale of the tape
Paul Gallen v Justis Huni
Age: 39 — 22
Height: 179cm — 193cm
Weight: 99.4kg — 106.3kg
Reach: 178cm — 194cm
Record: 11-0-1 — 4-0
Tom Crystal4.30pm:How tonight’s action shapes up
FIGHT CARD:
Paul Gallen v Justis Huni (heavyweight, 10 rounds)
Issac Hardman v Emmanuel Carlos (middleweight, 10 rounds)
Andrei Mikhailovic v Alex Hannan (super welterweight, eight rounds)
Sam Goodman vs Nort Beauchamp (featherweight, eight rounds)
Jason Whateley v Victor Oganov (cruiserweight, six rounds)
Brent Read4pm:NRL champion eyes ‘greatest feat’
Paul Gallen has a cabinet full of trophies and a resume loaded with achievements. When it comes to individual accomplishments, he believes a win over Justis Huni would top it all.
A premiership winner and victorious State of Origin captain as a rugby league player, he will take a gigantic step towards boxing credibility should he manage to upset Olympic gold medal hopeful Justis Huni at the International Convention Centre in Sydney on Wednesday night.
Gallen will enter the ring as a rank outsider against the unbeaten Australian heavyweight champion. Few among the boxing cognoscenti give Gallen a genuine chance of toppling Huni, regarded by some as a future world champion.
Gallen won’t die wondering, something that has become clear over the course of recent weeks as he has done his level best to rattle Huni, raising the hackles of the Tokyo hopeful’s camp in the process.
Gallen plays mind games with ‘mentally weak’ opponent
Paul Gallen believes Justis Huni is mentally fragile and will choke under pressure on Wednesday night, Peter Badel writes.
Gallen never entered the fight game to win belts but the former NSW Origin skipper will snatch the Australian heavyweight title if he defeats Huni in tonight’s bout at Sydney’s International Convention Centre.
Gallen is adamant Huni is susceptible to pressure and could suffer from a dose of stage fright.
“The last few days have shown he doesn’t handle pressure,” Gallen said. “I applied a bit of pressure to him at the press conference and he couldn’t handle it.
“It’s my aim for him to choke under pressure on the night. I can beat him by applying pressure.
“I’ve dropped a bit of weight but that doesn’t worry me at all. I’m easily fit enough to go 10 rounds with him and I’ll be coming at him from the opening seconds.”
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Shock Tszyu surgery blow to sideline star for five months
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