Paul Gallen has never been one to care about whether he’s booed or cheered.
The former Cronulla captain made a career of it – be it in a Sharks, Blues, or Kangaroos jersey, he loved to play the villain.
“I really don’t care, I’m not too worried [about the reception],” he told the press pack after Tuesday’s weigh-in.
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Gallen had plenty of dealings with Newcastle as a player, visiting the Hunter 14 times to face the Knights – including a 62-0 shellacking in his favour towards the end of his career.
But that was on grass, at the football ground – this will be inside the ropes just down the road at Newcastle Entertainment Centre, when he faces Victoria’s Kris Terzievski to fight for the Australian and Australasian heavyweight belts.
“I think it’s going to be an outstanding atmosphere, to be honest with you,” Gallen said.
“I’ve been to plenty of fights at this venue and it’s an awesome place to fight at, to be honest.”
Gallen has repeatedly teased that this could be it for his boxing career – and again acknowledged this may well be his last fight.
“I’m not going to come out and say it because I don’t know, but there’s a chance, without a doubt,” he said.
“I’ve had a wonderful sporting career for a long, long time. I’ve put my body through a hell of a lot, my mind through a hell of a lot, and my head through a hell of a lot.
“I’m right at the back end, yeah.”
Gallen told Wide World of Sports last week that he would consider one more fight at the end of the calendar year, but did concede today that the chance to go out on a high note, clutching two belts, is extremely tempting.
“I look at boxing and I look at a lot of people who retire, and there’s not a lot that get to go out on a win,” he said.
“They always seem to keep pushing, pushing, pushing. I’m not going to keep pushing, but to go out on a win would be awesome, to be honest with you.”
KING OF THE CASTLE FIGHT CARD AND WEIGHTS
Wednesday, Newcastle Entertainment Centre
Paul Gallen 103.86kg vs 102.26kg Kris Terzievski (10 rounds for Australian and Australasian heavyweight title)
Nikita Tszyu 69.06kg vs 69.48kg Mason Smith (six rounds at super-welterweight)
Harry Garside 61.04kg vs 61.06kg Layton McFerran (10 rounds for Australian lightweight title)
Sam Goodman 55.00kg vs 55.20kg Fumiya Fuse (10 rounds for IBF inter-continental and WBO Oriental super-bantamweight titles)
Hassan Hamdan 64.40kg vs 63.82kg Trent Girdham (six rounds at welterweight)
Amber Amelia 58.34kg vs 58.48kg Sara Jalonen (five rounds at featherweight)
Hironiri Mishiro 61.06kg vs 61.04kg Francis Chua (eight rounds at lightweight)
Linn Sandstrom 51.94kg vs 52.18kg Floryvic Montero (eight rounds for WBC Australiasian super-flyweight title)
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