NRL great Paul Gallen has made an unexpected call about his boxing career, revealing he’s unsure about taking any more fights.
Gallen, 40, is on the Gold Coast today for a sparring session against Australian cruiserweight Jai Opetaia, to finetune the 26-year-old’s preparation ahead of his world title fight against Mairis Briedis on May 11.
Yet a huge question mark hangs over Gallen’s career in the squared circle, with uncertainty hanging over his future in the ring just weeks after he declared it was all systems go to stage three fights before the end of the year.
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Aussie UFC star Rob Whittaker, Souths legend Sam Burgess and Sonny Bill Williams were all touted as possible opponents, with the former Cronulla captain also open to fighting current NRL players after the 2022 season concludes.
That plan has shifted for Gallen, who expressed some doubt over his future in the ring to Wide World of Sports.
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“Burgess won’t happen as far as I know. I’m doubtful that one will go ahead. Rob Whittaker definitely won’t happen,” Gallen said.
“I’ve got respect for Whittaker there’s no beef between us and I hope he goes on to win a world title in the UFC. But the UFC has said no as far as I know.
“I don’t even know If I’ve got three left in me. I’m well and truly at the back end. I don’t know what’s going to come next, I really don’t. There’s nothing around the corner and I don’t have a lot of fights left. Probably two fights max.
“I may have to wait until the end of the year to fight some footy players or someone may pop up in the meantime I’m really not sure.”
While a rematch with Barry Hall is also a possibility and an improbable clash with Williams is something TV bosses and fans would love to see, Gallen says his long-term health is coming into sharper focus, especially with recent news of league legends like Royce Simmons and Steve Mortimer suffering brain trauma related diseases later in life.
“At the end of the day I’ve got a family, four kids and I’ve got a great career in the media. I do well there. While the money is outstanding in boxing at the moment, it’s significant, it’s almost life-changing at times, I have to weigh it up,” Gallen admitted.
“It’s great at the moment but is it going to take 10 years off my commentary career?
“There’s going to come a point in my life, I’ve played over 400 top grade football and about 14 or 15 fights. Will it catch up at some stage?
“I’m OK at the moment, I don’t suffer from anything, but you never know what life is going to bring. So I’ve got to be a little bit cautious; I’m not going to keep pushing the envelope.”
But what he will do is lend a hand to others in the Australian boxing community. The 12-1-1 league player turner boxer has sparred with Aussie star Bilal Akkawy (20-1-1, 16KO) in recent weeks ahead of his comeback fight against Sebastian Singh on March 23.
After receiving a call from Opetaia’s promoter Dean Lonergan, Gallen caught a plane this morning to the Gold Coast to spar six-rounds with the Aussie hopeful ahead of his bout with Breidis.
The Latvian currently holds the IBF and The Ring belts, having previously held the WBC and WBO titles.
The 37-year-old Breidis has a 29-1 record, with his only defeat coming to current heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in 2018.
“It’s a huge fight. We saw what George Kambosos did. These guys need support,” Gallen added.
“I hope the Australian sporting community get behind him. Everyone saw what Kambosos did and I think Jai Opetaia deserves the same support.
“It’s going to be a tough day for me. I can’t wait to see him get in there and do it and I’m going to support him as much as I can.
“If he gets a win I can say I sparred a world champion. That’s pretty cool for me. I’m pretty sure in an open sparring session we do what we want. I’ll be doing my best against a guy who is as sharp as anything.”
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