One Fight Too Many: Asofa-Solomona Knocks Out Gallen in the First Round

SYDNEY

It was one fight too many, and it did not take long to prove it. Paul Gallen, 45 years old and fighting for the 20th and final time, was knocked out in the first round by Nelson Asofa-Solomona at TikTok Entertainment Centre on Friday night — a heavyweight mismatch that ended with Gallen prone on the canvas for several minutes, a trip to hospital, and the people closest to him sounding relieved that it is finally over.

The finish came behind a right hand and a run of uppercuts. AAP reported that Asofa-Solomona landed half a dozen hammer blows to Gallen’s head in the closing sequence, and Gallen stayed down well past the count while he received medical treatment. He eventually regained his feet and left the ring on his own, greeted by his 13-year-old son Kody — but AAP and Code Sports both reported he was taken to hospital afterward.

A mismatch on paper, a mismatch in the ring

The tale of the tape always said this was dangerous. Asofa-Solomona stands 201 centimetres and weighed in at 137.5 kilograms. Gallen stands 179 centimetres and weighed 104.18 kilograms — a difference of roughly 33 kilograms, against a man 15 years his junior. Fox League and Main Event commentator Dan Ginnane dubbed it “Ivan Drago vs Rocky” on the broadcast, and Gallen’s close friend and former Cronulla premiership teammate Mick Ennis admitted the sight of the two men together before the first bell frightened him.

“I know the warrior inside Gal and I love that. The resilience and the inner belief has been unrivalled in Australian sport,” Ennis said on Fox Sports. “But tonight, when Nelson came out … I had a real reality check with the size difference. It was really hard to watch. It was terrifying.” Ennis added on Fox Sports: “I was scared, mate, to be honest, and I’m just happy to see him with Kody and his team.”

Asofa-Solomona, the former Melbourne Storm enforcer, is now 4-0 as a professional boxer, all four wins by knockout. George Burgess, Jarrod Wallace and Jeremy Latimore preceded Gallen on that list, but none of those wins looked like this one. Gallen had refused to concede the mismatch all week, through a spiteful war of words at Wednesday’s press conference, but in the ring there was no answer to the size in front of him.

The winner’s night ended in the crowd

Asofa-Solomona’s celebration curdled within seconds. After climbing the ropes, he jumped down into the crowd and swung at a spectator while Gallen was still receiving treatment in the ring. He apologised afterward and said he had reacted to a racist taunt aimed at him from the crowd.

“I want to apologise to everyone for that. I just got in the middle of the heat of the moment,” Asofa-Solomona said, per AAP. “There’s been a big build up, and I should not behave like that. I’m sorry.” Asked what set him off, Asofa-Solomona told AAP: “Someone was doing an ape gesture. I stood on the ropes and it looked like someone threw something at me… I’d just seen red.”

Of Gallen, Asofa-Solomona said, per AAP: “I really hope he’s all good.” Asofa-Solomona also called out Tommy Fury after the fight — a sign of where the 30-year-old’s ambitions sit after the biggest scalp of his boxing life.

What Gallen leaves behind

Gallen’s first professional fight came in February 2014, against Herman Ene-Purcell, while he was still at the height of his rugby league career. His last leaves him at 16-3-1, and the wins in between were not soft ones. He beat Lucas Browne, a former world champion; he outlasted Mark Hunt in December 2020; and he took a split decision over Sonny Bill Williams in their long-awaited grudge match last year, alongside wins over Justin Hodges, Ben Hannant, Darcy Lussick, John Hopoate and Junior Paulo. Fox Sports ranks him behind only Anthony Mundine among Australia’s crossover boxers.

He was a premiership-winning captain at Cronulla and a New South Wales State of Origin captain before he was a boxer. Rugby league journalist Peter Badel said on the Fox Sports broadcast, in a verdict that doubled as an epitaph for both careers: “20 fights, 16 wins, beat Lucas Browne, a former world champion, unbelievable. Beat Mark Hunt, had some massive scalps… Gal, you are a legend, you’re a warrior.”

Ginnane said on Fox Sports, putting the ending more bluntly: “I always had the feeling he needs something like this, a devastating knockout, to finally put him out of his misery — and I say that with positivity. I kind of feel relieved for him that this is going to be the end.” On Friday night, in one round, it was.

On the undercard

The best fight of the night came underneath the main event. Ahmad Reda moved to 10-0 with a split-decision win over the more experienced Jake Wyllie (19-3), who had missed the 61-kilogram lightweight limit by two kilograms at Thursday’s weigh-in. Paulo Aokuso delivered the other highlight, stopping Mobin Khahrazeh in the second round of their IBF Inter-Continental light-heavyweight fight, and Callum Peters took a 10-round decision over Juan Diego Ortiz.

Friday’s other big finish, in Bangkok, and Saturday’s UFC card are in today’s full fight roundup on Previously.