Following his split decision win over long-time rival Sonny Bill Williams (9-2-0), Paul Gallen (16-2-1) has officially laid down the gloves.
The 43-year-old has closed the final chapter on his boxing career, racking up an impressive resume with victories over NRL greats, boxing icons and MMA legends. John Hopoate, Justin Hodges and Mark Hunt are just some of the big names Gallen has conquered throughout the years.
Last Wednesday, under the bright lights of Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, the G-Train steamrolled through Sonny Bill Williams (SBW), defeating the former Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldog and All Blacks superstar via a controversial split decision.
The former Cronulla Sharks and NSW Blues captain was awarded 77-74 and 76-75 on the scorecards, with one judge scoring the bout 77-74 for SBW.
Fight News Australia was in attendance when the historic blood feud came to a conclusion. During the walkouts, the crowd was audibly in favour of SBW, with Gallen receiving his fair share of applause. Once the fight began, Gallen pounced forward, targeting the body of the much taller Kiwi. Williams appeared quite comfortable on his feet, moving around the ring while popping jabs at the Aussie’s head.
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SBW came close to finishing the fight in the second round as he landed several uppercuts, which appeared to wobble Gallen. However, the G-Train, true to form, bit down on his mouthguard and powered through the assault.
In round four, the ref had to intervene, telling both fighters to “keep it clean” and warning SBW from stalling the fight by hugging Gallen. Then, the biggest moment in the fight happened in round seven when SBW was deducted a point for stalling, despite multiple warnings from the ref.
In the end, Paul Gallen did enough to secure the split decision win. He threw more attempted strikes, landed more punches and pushed forward the entire time. SBW had a solid game plan to utilise his reach and speed, but in the process, he received multiple warnings for hugging, stalling and a point deduction.
The main event lived up to the hype as both boxers delivered an entertaining, yet close, competitive brawl. After the bell rang, words were exchanged between the pair before they begrudgingly shook hands and heard the judges’ scorecards. Gallen won, Sonny walked out, and fans got what they had been asking for over the past decade.
