Gallen, SBW, $2 million superfight finally locked in after tense decade
After 10 years of false starts, broken promises and bitter words, Paul Gallen and Sonny Bill Williams will finally trade blows in a $2 million trans-Tasman, cross-code grudge match.
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It’s official.
After 10 years of false starts, broken promises and bitter words, Paul Gallen and Sonny Bill Williams will finally trade blows in a $2 million trans-Tasman, cross-code grudge match.
This masthead can reveal Gallen and SBW have agreed to terms on a heavyweight boxing blockbuster to be staged on Wednesday, July 16 - one week after State of Origin III.
Channel 9 chiefs will use the State of Origin series as a platform to promote the Gallen-Sonny Bill boxing feud that has bubbled away for a decade.
The location for the fight is yet to be finalised. Sydney’s International Convention Centre is one option.
It is understood the NRL legends have agreed to a 50-50 split. NSW Origin great Gallen and All Blacks dual international Williams are guaranteed to pocket $1 million each and possibly more depending on pay-per-view sales.
That’s not a bad pay day for 16 minutes of action, with Gallen agreeing to eight, two-minute rounds after Sonny Bill refused his rival’s offer to fight the traditional three-minute rounds.
Gallen (15-2-1, 8KO) formally signed on Wednesday and has vowed to go out with a bang by stopping Williams (9-1, 4KO) after years of bad blood, labelling his Kiwi foe a “fraud”.
“It’s been a long time in the making and my plan is to knock him out,” Gallen said.
“I’m not the fighter I was three years ago, I know that, but I’ve still got enough to beat him and that’s all that matters.
“I just think he’s a fraud.
“They’re talking about Sonny Bill Williams, a professional athlete who considers himself a worldwide superstar, and he only wants two-minute rounds.
“That gives me a bit of confidence.”
Both men will go in with ring rust, with Gallen and Sonny Bill not having fought for more than two years.
READ MORE: Why Gallen’s friends don’t want him to fight SBW
Gallen last entered the ring in November 2022 when he beat Justin Hodges, just three weeks after Sonny Bill was sensationally stopped by Mark Hunt to suffer his first career defeat.
At 43, Gallen will be four years older than the 39-year-old Williams, but could start favourite given his history of superior opponents.
The Sharks icon famously beat former heavyweight world champion Lucas Browne, went 10 rounds with Justis Huni and beat Hunt, who stopped SBW in four rounds.
Against the wishes of his closest friends and family to give-up on fighting Williams, Gallen relented by signing the deal.
The pair almost fought three years ago but negotiations collapsed after the Gallen and SBW camps failed to agree on the purse split.
This time, the bitter enemies have shaken hands on the deal as Gallen looks to bludgeon his Channel 9 commentary colleague.
Leading Kiwi promoter Dean Lonergan, who bankrolled the historic Jeff Horn-Manny Pacquiao blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium in 2017, backed Gallen to beat Sonny Bill.
Lonergan secured a $1.3 million pay day for Gallen when the former NSW Origin skipper lost to Huni in an Australian heavyweight title clash in 2021.
“I think ‘Gal’ beats Sonny Bill,” said Lonergan, who helped Horn to a world-title boilover of Pacquiao.
“The one common opponent they have is Mark Hunt and Gallen outlasted Hunt, while Hunt knocked Sonny Bill out.
“Paul is one of the toughest athletes I have ever seen and he will be too strong, determined and powerful for Sonny Bill.
“It will be a fascinating fight.”
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